Sharp Edges
by darkladywolf
Summary: "I say we leave her here. We've wasted enough time as it is." "Hey!" she protested, not in the least intimidated by the sword still positioned dangerously close to her jugular. "I just made an enemy of the King for your sake." "Boo hoo, cry me a river." *I do not own Naruto and/or King Arthur* *Rating might change*
1. Chapter 1

The news that the sword had been drawn from the stone spread like wildfire.

Even she, hidden in her alleys shrouded in shadows, had heard about it. First it was just whispering, but very soon the people could barely keep their excitement in check. In just a few hours, the marketplace was bustling with activity. She couldn't blame them. Judging by their condition and their livelihoods, it was no wonder that the rumors about the return of the Born King had caused such uproar.

Farmers with close to no farmlands, fishermen whose catch couldn't feed even their own families, shepherds whose flocks were consistently plundered by blackguards. Had she been in their place, she would have hoped for a miracle too.

_What a load of shit…_

She had long since stopped believing in heroes and prophecies to make things right. Not when no hero had come to save her people, not when their miracle had never happened. Not when her village lay in nothing but shambles, abandoned and burned to the ground, looted and left to rot like the discarded carcass of a buck.

Not when most of her friends were deep in their unmarked graves, cold and forgotten.

_I remember though…I remember all of it…_

"Did you hear about it?"

Broken out of her thoughts, she receded farther in the shadows of the wet alley, making sure that her worn grey cloak shielded her from prying eyes.

"Do you think it's true?" a second voice said.

"Of course it's true you bloody idiot. Why do you think they put up the executioner's block?"

"Fuck, King Vortigern didn't waste any time, did he? Making quick work of the competition…"

"Shut it! There are Blacklegs all around this place. You want them on your ass, or what?"

From her place against the wall, she watched them hurry away, voices reduced to whispers. She frowned.

_First a magic sword stuck in a stone, then a promised King and now another one that's out for blood? _

She pulled the cloak tighter around her body and drew the hood lower over her face. Tiptoeing to the entrance of the dingy alley, back pressed against the wall for cover, she looked at the people coming and going through the marketplace even though the sun had almost sunk completely in the horizon.

The hairs at the back of her neck stood on edge as she observed the last remnants of sunlight disappear. It was an uneasy feeling, one that made her muscles clench uncomfortably. There was something in the air, an aura so strong and strange that she almost wondered how the rest of the people couldn't feel it.

_This is not good…_She shifted her eyes to the Dark Tower, standing tall and menacing in all its monstrous glory. _And it's coming from there…_

She was no stranger to games of power or to cutthroat practices. If anything, it was almost normal that the current King would want to erase every trace of any aspiring challengers.

_But there is so much more to this. I can feel it in my bones…_

She knew little about the politics of this place, having spent most of her time here trying to survive and blend in as best she could, but what she did know she had heard from those talking in hushed whispers. The late King Uther murdered and betrayed by those close to him…A blind man could see the worn faces of the people and feel the fear in the air.

She pulled the cloak tighter around her, trying to shield herself from the cold. She walked deeper in the alley, hoping that the tall, stone walls would block the chilly evening breeze. There was a single door that lead to the alleyway and she was positive that it was the backdoor of a tavern. She hadn't seen anyone walk out of there in close to a month, but she could hear the drunken shouting and smell the stench of urine mixed with spilled ale.

As unpleasant as that was, she was thankful for the cover it provided. She stood out like a sore thumb among these people and one tiny mistake could result in her being discovered. She didn't know how these people treated peculiar strangers but if their King's determination to keep himself on that throne was any indication, she'd bet it would be anything but pleasant.

Looking around, she made sure that no one was watching before she silently started scaling the wall of the alley. She pulled herself up on the roof and made her way to the old abandoned pigeon house that had served as her makeshift shelter and home for the past year. It wasn't the best or cleanest, but it was something.

_Beggars can't be choosers now, can they? _

She decided against lighting a fire. With all the unrest spreading through the town like a wave, the last thing she wanted was a bunch of Blacklegs on her tail.

_Look at what has become of you…Running from common blackguards…_

Sighing deeply, she settled down against a wall for the night. The abandoned pigeon house was good enough a shelter. It shielded her from the elements and provided decent cover from prying eyes. It was highly unlikely that anyone would be making the climb to look at the view from that roof anyway.

_Look at what view? _Her eyes once more fell on the Dark Tower._ No matter where you stand, that's all you can see…_

Looking out of her shelter's small window, she let her mind wander back to a time when things were simpler, happier. She missed those times. They hadn't been exactly carefree, but they had been happy. Now everything seemed bleak, barren.

_I don't even know what the hell I'm doing here…_

She had been thinking about relocating, but it seemed rather pointless. She had spent the better part of her first year in this place traveling from one town to the next, looking for something to hold on to, something to give this new life of hers some meaning, but…

_If sleeping in a pigeon house is supposed to be my life from now on, I'd rather share the axe with the would-be-King on the morrow…_

A flash in the corner of her eye broke her out of her thoughts. Crouching low, she all but crawled to the pigeon house's entrance. Making sure that her cloak covered her, she peeked behind the wall. The light of the lanterns spread around town didn't reach so high up, but even in darkness she could make out the broad-shouldered silhouettes of four men. The unmistakable shape of a sword against the tallest one's hip had her on edge.

The sky was clear, and the moon was almost full. The moonlight reflecting on the sharp edge of the blade was hard to miss. She was thankful that she had decided against lighting a fire. That would have given away her position in seconds.

"Are you sure about this, Bedivere?"

The voice was muffled, but she could still make out the tension in the man's words.

"What choice do we have, Bill?" the one with the sword said. "This wasn't the plan, but if we don't act now, he dies. And all our hopes die with him."

She frowned. _What the hell are they talking about? Why would a commoner like that would-be-King be so important to these people? _

"Ah, our mighty King just had to go and get himself caught."

"Stop it, Rubio. He pulled the Sword from the stone. You heard the Mage with your very own ears. Years ago, I witnessed the blade's magic myself. Don't mock powers you don't understand. If we wish to stand at least a chance against Vortigern's tyranny, we need him."

She let the words of the man with the blade, Bedivere, sink in and her frown deepened. _The Mage? Magic? What the hell is going on here? Could it be true? All these rumors about the returned King…_

"We need to act quickly, Bedivere. The execution is said to take place at dawn. We don't have time. Can we really trust the Mage?"

"She's an acolyte of Merlin. Given our circumstances, we have little choice in the matter, Percival. We need all the help we can get. Vortigern will be heavily guarded. We will never reach him, but let's hope that the Mage will hold off the Blacklegs long enough for us to get Uther's son out of there. He is our only priority."

_Uther? The late King?_ Her eyes widened. _It is true then. The man about to be executed really is of royal blood. The true heir to the throne._

The somber silence that followed had the hairs at the back of her neck on edge. They were tense, she could tell, and it made her wonder. What was really going on? It was obvious that there was a lot more to the Returned-King story than she had initially thought.

Realization dawned. _They are planning to overthrow the current King…This sounds like a situation that's bound to go from bad to worse…_Her eyes watched them closely, waiting to see their next move. The one identified as Bill shook his head and chuckled, running his hand through his hair.

"This is it then." He looked at the faces of his companions. "For Camelot."

"For Camelot." the other three chorused.

She didn't move from her crouching position until she was sure they were gone, their silhouettes fading away as they jumped the narrow gap to the roof of the nearby building and disappeared into the night.

Releasing a sigh of relief, she relaxed her muscles. She rubbed her eyes, trying to digest the information she had just overheard and come to a decision.

_Why do I have to come to a decision in the first place? This is not my problem...If anything, I should run as far away from here as possible._

But even as the thought crossed her mind, a familiar face flashed before her eyes. His sunny smile was absent, and he was looking at her sadly, as if he was disappointed in her. _Didn't you hear what they said? They live in pain; how can you not help them_? _Is this how you honor my memory?_ his blue eyes seemed to say to her.

"Damn it!"

She looked down at the weapon's pouch hanging from the belt of the worn breeches she had stolen from a washing line a good while ago. She hadn't used her weapons in a long while, fearing that the familiarity of their weight in her hands would cripple her even more emotionally.

Carefully, almost reverently, she reached inside her pouch. A shock passed through her when her fingers brushed against the cold metal and she pulled out a kunai for the first time in almost two years. She held it, reacquainting herself with its weight in her hand. She looked at the blade and her reflection stared back at her. For a moment, her green eyes flashed blue and she chuckled.

_You knucklehead…How could I ever let you down?_

She put the kunai back in her pouch and settled against the wall. She took one last long look at the moon and closed her eyes, surrendering herself to a restless, dreamless sleep.

Because at dawn, she had a mission.

At dawn, she was going to watch a King die.

XxxOxOxOxxX

The crowd that had gathered to watch the execution was impressive to say the least, and she rolled her eyes at the people's willingness to watch a man's head hacked off his shoulders.

Tall and hideous, the Dark Tower stood on the edge of a cliff, hanging above their heads like a bad omen. The aura it radiated was powerful and so disgustingly foul that it almost left her breathless. The day was not chilly, but she shuddered, nonetheless.

Knowing that she'd never manage to get through the excited crowd, she looked around for another way to get closer to her target and ultimate objective.

_Huh, objective…You fool. You're yet again getting yourself involved in a situation that's way over your head…_

The cliffside was steep and jagged, but it was her best option. No one would think to look for someone trying to get close by attempting to scale the slippery surface of the cliff, and if she wanted her plan to work, she'd have to give it her all.

_This will have to do._

Adjusting her grip, she stuck herself to the rock and started the difficult climb to the execution site, the waters of the river rushing bellow her. Despite the protective shield of her chakra, she could still feel the sharp edges of the cliff's surface digging into her skin. For just a moment she thought about going back, simply abandoning this crazy idea of hers and returning to the relative safety of her pigeon house.

A pair of blue eyes immediately flashed to the forefront of her mind. She sighed.

_I know, I know. You would have done everything in your power to make things right. You wouldn't have turned a blind eye to the suffering of these people. I won't either, for both our sakes. _

The closer she got, the louder the voices grew, and she realized that she had long since crossed the point of no return. She couldn't back out now. Excitement flared in her gut.

_Admit it, you selfish hypocrite. You've been wishing for something like this. For a chance to feel the thrill of battle after so long…_

Applause and hysterical yelling broke her out of her thoughts, and she edged closer, pulling herself up just enough to peek at what was going on.

"King Vortigern!"

"King Vortigern!"

"King Vortigern!"

"King Vortigern!"

Climbing up a few feet away from the crowd and thanking her lucky stars that no one had turned to look, she quickly mingled with the people, making sure that the hood of her cloak hid her features.

She could see King Vortigern looking down at them from his throne as his guards clapped and roared his name in an almost delirious manner.

She rolled her eyes. _A flair for the dramatic I see…_

Slipping past the Blacklegs that guarded the perimeter of the execution site proved easier than she had anticipated. Even those stationed on high ground were far too preoccupied with observing the scene to really pay attention to her fleeting shadow as she glided past them. Trying to make her way through the people without being noticed was hard, but she managed to reach the scaffolds built at the foot of the Dark Tower.

_Damn, these Blacklegs are everywhere…_

She pushed herself through the boards and slipped past a few guards who were too focused on the scene before them to notice what was going on behind them. She pulled herself up and onto the second level of the scaffold, ducking behind a low stacking of boards for cover. Peeking over them, she was pleased to see that she had managed to glide past most of the guards and that she had a great view of the scene.

She shifted her gaze to King Vortigern, taking note of the chainmail and the heavy armor. _He knows they are out to get him…_She looked at the Blacklegs surrounding him, setting up a tight perimeter around the execution site. _Leave him be…He is not who you are here for._

"Behold! Your Born King!"

Her eyes flashed at the announcement as two heavily-armored guards escorted a man towards the executioner's block, positioned in such a way that everyone in attendance would be able to see. The axe was already there, logged in the wood, waiting.

"Behold the man who pulled sword from stone!"

He was limping, her trained eyes examined him, taking note of his bruised face. He had probably received a severe beating and she could see the despair in his eyes. He knew what was coming. Shackled and at the mercy of the executioner's axe, he knew that death was coming, she could tell.

_Well…We'll see about that now, won't we? _

"You wanted a prophecy. This is your prophecy!"

Her gaze flew to the man making the announcements and a low growl emitted from her throat. _Enjoying this, aren't you? Let's see how you like what's coming next_…She smirked.

"Now tell us, King," the man continued mockingly, "What do you have to say?"

Her muscles tensed, knowing that it was time. _Any minute now…_

"If you are the King, declare yourself!"

_Oh, how I am going to enjoy wiping that smile off your face…_

"If you are lost for words, then let the sword speak for you."

Her gaze again fell on the shackled man, noticing the almost defeated look on his face. _Hang in there…Just a little while longer…_

"Take it! Show the people the power of Excalibur!"

The sword was presented to him, but the man made no move to take it. She sucked in a breath. She could feel the power radiating off the blade in waves, as if the sword itself knew what was coming.

_You fools…You have no idea what you are dealing with. _

She didn't either. She didn't know anything about this place or who these people really were. What she did know however was that the blade was anything but ordinary. And it was angry.

"Raise that sword!" the guard yelled and then chuckled when the shackled man lowered his head. "I thought not."

Taking a deep breath, she rose from her hiding place and closed her eyes, expanding her senses, reaching all the way to the rushing waters below. Her fingers formed a seal, something they hadn't done in a long while. She allowed herself a moment of silence, and she plunged herself into the darkest corners of her very own being.

And there it was. The familiar feeling of her chakra that she had kept suppressed for close to two years, only allowing herself to use the absolute minimum. It started as a spark, but it soon turned into a fire that spread throughout her body, warming her and electrifying her every cell.

It felt like home.

Th wind picked up and the cry of an eagle from above reached her ears, as if the mighty bird was giving her the order to move.

_It's showtime…_

"This man cannot be allowed to bring discord to our flourishing nation!"

The shackled man was brought to his knees and they pushed his head on the executioner's block, tying a tight rope around his neck to keep him there.

She went through the seals slowly, almost reverently, as if remembering them again. No one seemed to notice the gushing of the river below or how the waves seemed to crash a lot more forcefully against the cliffside. Her cloak billowed around her body as the wind picked up and the wood beneath her feet cracked from the force of her chakra. She had kept it suppressed for so long that it was returning to her with a ferocity that left her breathless.

The executioner moved forward, making to grab his menacing axe.

The second cry of the eagle mingled with her sharp "Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu!" and all hell broke loose.

The water dragon that rose above their heads was ferocious and its formidable roar had the crowd scattering for cover like ants. It flew above the guards, and their horses reared in terror, throwing their riders off and galloping off in a frenzy.

"Protect the King!" she heard someone shout and she smirked as they pulled King Vortigern inside the Tower.

The dragon snapped its jaws at the executioner who made to run but tripped over his own feet and fell. He crawled behind a pillar. The man, the Born King, was still immobilized against the wooden block so she had her dragon stay above him, snapping its jaws at anyone who tried to approach him.

"Percival! Grab him!"

Her eyes snapped to the side, her heightened hearing immediately catching the familiar name.

_About damn time…_

"Do you see that thing?!" the man, Percival, retorted, hesitating.

"It must be the Lady of the Lake! She's helping us! Make haste! Our time is running out!"

She tilted her head to the side. _Lady of the Lake?_ She chuckled. _Oh well, much better than Billboard Brow._

Percival managed to cut the other man free, but they were immediately surrounded by Blacklegs who tried to corner them. Her water dragon ducked, putting its body between them and creating a ferocious protective wall, giving the men just enough time to grab the Sword from where it had been unceremoniously dropped, and jump down from the execution site.

Some of the guards still standing slipped past her dragon and started chasing them. She shifted her eyes below and cursed. There were Blacklegs everywhere, swords drawn and bows already nocked with arrows.

_Damn it, there are still civilians around. _

She searched the crowd and cursed again. The group trying to save the Born King was in trouble, cornered against a wall of wood with Blacklegs pressing them in. She released her jutsu and with one last ferocious roar her dragon dissipated. Without much thought, she took out a kunai and leaped down from the upper level of the scaffold, jumping over the head of a guard that tried to grab her.

She hurled her blade at the Blacklegs, catching one in the ribs just as he was about to raise his sword against the man she was trying so hard to save. Startled, he looked at her and their eyes clashed for a moment before her gaze was torn away. A Blackleg tried to headlock her from behind, but she elbowed him sharply in the chest and he released her, doubling over in pain.

A guard swung at her with his sword, but she jumped away, stopping the second swing of the blade with her kunai. She pushed the sword aside and kicked him in the stomach, sending his body crashing through the wood of the scaffold.

"Watch out!" someone yelled, and she instinctively ducked as an arrow whistled past her head.

She looked up and her eyes once more clashed with the man's gaze. Despite the bruises marring his face, his blue eyes were sharp and intelligent. She nodded her thanks at him and focused her attention on the armored guards flooding their surroundings.

_Damn it, not even I can take all of them at once. That Suiton took a lot out of me._ She looked in the opposite direction and noticed that they were standing dangerously close to the edge of the cliff with only the river below them. _Damn it!_

Her hair whipped around her face in the wind. _Wait, hair…? Damn! My hood! Now they know what I look like._

The Blacklegs seemed only to increase in number, and soon they were nearly pressed against one another and just a few steps away from the edge.

"Jump!" the tall man from last night, Bedivere, shouted and he hurled himself off the scaffold and into the waters below. The other three, Rubio, Percival and Bill, whom she had just noticed, followed his example. She looked at the spots they had been standing incredulously.

"What the hell are you waiting for? You idiot! You'll get yourself killed!"

She looked at the man she was trying to rescue. "What-"

Before she could utter a word, he grabbed her hand and forcefully pulled her over the edge with him.

_Bloody hell! _

Her body hit the water just as a small rain of arrows whistled past them. The force of the impact left her dazed, but she pushed herself to swim to the surface. Breaking through the water, she took large, frantic gulps of air, hoping to ease her burning lungs.

She looked around, noticing the others starting to surface too and without wasting another minute she followed Bedivere's example and swam to the narrow riverbanks. She pulled herself out of the water and dropped down to her knees, heaving as air rapidly rushed back in her lungs. Something cold met her skin and she raised her eyes to see a sword pointed at her neck.

_Oh, give me a break…_

"Who are you?" Bedivere, who appeared to be leading this rebel group, sent her a sharp look.

She looked at the faces of the others, noticing a woman she hadn't noticed before. Her eyes rested a second longer on the man she had put her life and cover in jeopardy for.

_I still don't know his name…_

"Please point that away from me," she said, her accent nearly unnoticeable. "I mean you no harm." It hadn't taken her long to learn the language. She had had a lot of free time on her hands these past two years anyway.

"Why should we believe you though?" asked Bill from behind Bedivere.

_Because I just helped save your sorry ass you ungrateful_\- "Because had I been against you, I wouldn't have put my head on the line for your sake."

"Indeed."

She looked to her right and saw the man approach her with a suspicious look on his face.

"Which begs the question; why did you do it?"

_Why indeed…_ "Let's just say that I never was one to turn a blind eye to the pain and suffering of those around me." Her green eyes locked with his blue ones and for a moment she worried his penetrating gaze would see right through her.

"I say we leave her here," proposed Bill and she fought the urge to smack him. "We've wasted enough time as it is."

"Hey!" she protested, not in the least intimidated by the sword still positioned dangerously close to her jugular. "I just made an enemy of the King for your sake."

"Boo hoo, cry me a river." Bill turned to Bedivere. "We need to leave now Bedivere. They are definitely looking for us and we are standing here wasting time. If we get caught now, all our efforts to rescue Arthur will be in vain. Let's leave her here."

_Arthur…So that's his name. _

"No." All heads turned to the dark-haired female of the group. Her almost soulless stare made the kneeling woman shift in discomfort. "We take her with us."

"But-"

"Merlin commands it."

The males looked at each other, before they all looked at Bedivere. He stared at her for a moment and withdrew his sword with a sigh. "You heard the Mage. It has been decided. You will be accompanying us from now. It might be for the best. We can keep an eye on you." He turned his back to her and put his blade back in its sheath. "Let's go."

_Sheesh, not one to joke around, is he?_

She made to stand when she noticed someone's hand reaching for her. She looked up and her eyes fell on the face of the man that had caused all this pandemonium. _Arthur…_

"Need any help?"

She took his offered hand and he pulled her up. "Thanks."

"I should be thanking you. You saved my life back there."

"And you returned the favor. That arrow would have gone through my neck. We call it even."

He examined her strangely, as if still suspicious of her. _Oh well, I can't really blame him for that._

"You still haven't answered the question, you know."

She raised an eyebrow. "And which question would that be?"

He crossed his arms across his chest and shot her an amused look, as if he knew she was playing with him. "Who are you?"

She chuckled. Raising her eyes to meet his, she smiled at him. "Sakura. My name's Sakura."

**TBC?**

**Eerrr…yeah. Have I ever mentioned what a knack I have for the weirdest, most peculiar crossovers? This one is a prime example of just that! And it usually starts like this: "Hey, I love the new Arthur (and Charlie Hunnam, mind you) and I love Sakura too. Let's throw these two together and see what comes of it!" **

**So, yeah…There you have it! **

**Despite the weirdness of this crossover, I sincerely hope you enjoyed it. I'm really hyped so if this pairing and crossover is something you'd be interested in reading more of, then please drop a quick review to let me know! **

**Personally, I'm super curious to see where this could lead. I'll try my hardest to keep our heroes as in character as possible considering the circumstances of this story. It will probably be a challenge and that prospect is certainly exciting! **

**I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts so please, READ AND REVIEW! **

**Until next time, **

**Lots of love! **


	2. Chapter 2

Sakura was having a hard time controlling her laughter.

"Will you stop?" he growled at her, though his voice was muffled by the bag covering his head.

"What? I'm not doing anything." Even as she said that, she bit her lip to keep her chuckling in check.

"I'm right behind you on this bloody horse. I can feel your shoulders shaking, woman!"

She snickered. "Learn to hold your tongue, princeling, and you might save yourself from any more bags over your head." She nudged him with her elbow, earning a grunt from him. "You don't mock the people that put their heads on the line for you."

"Bloody hell."

"Oi, quit it you two! Even if King Vortigern hasn't heard you yet, the rest of the damn kingdom has."

Sakura looked ahead and a little to her right where Bill had turned in his saddle to look at them disapprovingly. "It was your brilliant idea to have him ride with me. What you sow is what you reap, good sir."

The older man scowled at her. "Watch it lassie. The next bag might be going over your head." He turned to Bedivere. "I told you, we should have left her there while we had the chance."

Sakura shot him an annoyed look. "I can hear you, you know."

"That's exactly the point lassie."

The woman huffed and the beast beneath her snorted, almost as if the dapple-grey gelding was laughing at her. She clicked her tongue, slapping the horse's muscular neck lightly. "Traitor."

The man behind her chuckled. "Ah, sweet revenge."

She threw him a look that he couldn't see over her shoulder and smirked. "Is that so?"

Without a warning, she nudged the gelding's sides, making the beast leap forward. Arthur, with his hands bound and his head covered by thick fabric, slipped off the horse's sleek back, landing on the ground ungracefully.

"What the bloody hell, you banshee!"

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Your Majesty, I didn't see you there."

The man growled at her, though that only made her smirk wider. "You are lucky I don't brawl with women."

Sakura cackled. "This woman knows how to break every single one of your bones. I wouldn't try anything if I were you lad."

She turned to the rest of their party who had stopped to watch the scene. Once more, the dark-haired woman was looking at her strangely and Sakura fought down the urge to shiver. The Mage, Bedivere had called her. No name, just the Mage. The woman had an unnerving stare, and eyes so dark and soulless that Sakura couldn't help but wonder if there was anything at all behind that gaze. To an extent, she envied the woman. She hadn't met another person so composed in all her years.

"Go on ahead. I'll get the princeling back on the horse and catch up with you."

"And leave him alone with you? Not a chance."

Sakura raised an eyebrow at Bill. "Any particular reason for that?"

"I don't trust you, plain and simple."

_Oh, for the love of every God out there…_

"Don't you think I would have killed him already if that were my objective? He's been riding behind me for hours."

"Don't test my-"

"Enough!" They both turned to look at Bedivere, who looked more than a little annoyed. "Get him on the horse. Rubio, stay with them. We'll go up ahead to scout the area. Catch up quickly." Without another word, the man turned his horse around and started trotting away, followed closely by Bill, Percival and the Mage.

"Alright children, chop chop!"

Sakura rolled her eyes at Rubio's cheerfulness and jumped down from her gelding. Walking over to Arthur, she bent down and pulled the bag off his head. She smiled widely at his scowling face. "Behave now, will you?"

"Better keep my hands bound otherwise they might end up around your little neck."

The woman's smile widened. "Now, you wouldn't hurt a lady, would you?"

The blond man snorted. "Good thing you are anything but that then."

_Cheeky bastard…_

She pulled him up by the front of his shirt and helped him up on the horse. She followed suit, making herself comfortable in the saddle in from of him. Nudging the grey gelding forward, she looked at the man over her shoulder. Seeing as she hadn't put the bag back over his head, his blue eyes clashed with hers.

_So, so different from Naruto's…_

Her gaze fell on the bruises marring his face. They were still dark, and she guessed quite painful too. She scolded herself for not tending to them earlier. She nudged him lightly.

"Will you let me take a look those when we get to wherever the hell it is we are going?"

"What are you, a physician?"

Sakura shrugged. "I know a couple things about medicine, is all."

He stared at her for a few seconds, then turned his head away. "I'm fine."

"Really now…" She poked him in the cheek and rolled her eyes at the way his body jerked. _You men and your damn egos…_

"Ouch! What the hell was that for?"

The woman sighed for what seemed like the tenth time that day. "Just let me take a look at those bruises, Arthur." She turned to her left where Rubio was. "Help me out here." The man snickered and held his hands up in mock surrender before starting to whistle a merry tune.

Sakura scratched her horse's neck. "You're the only sane one in this group, my handsome boy." The beast snorted, delighting in her touch and she smiled. Even though she rarely ever got to see horses back home, she'd always had a soft spot for them.

_How times have changed. I have a horse now but no home…_

She looked down at her hands delicately holding the soft leather of the reins. She could still feel the residue of her chakra at the tips of her fingers and if she concentrated hard enough, she could almost hear the hum of it right beneath her skin.

_It's been too long. What would Tsunade say if she were to see me now?_

She looked up at the sky. It was cloudy but judging by what little light could pass through, night was fast approaching.

_Are you watching from above, Naruto? And I doing the right thing? _

She lowered her gaze and focused on the path ahead of her. The road wasn't too wide, just broad enough to fit a pair of horses walking side by side. Even though there were mountains all around and clusters of trees to their right, the area to their left was relatively open and that made her feel a bit uneasy. She stole at glance at Rubio and took note of his relaxed stance.

_Well, he seems perfectly content. I'm probably worrying over nothing. _

The ride was quiet, and her grey gelding was sure-footed with a smooth stride. The rhythmic movement of his shoulders as he walked was soothing and she allowed her muscles to relax a bit. They shouldn't be far away from the rest of their party anyway.

_I might as well enjoy these short moments of peace now that I still can._ She tried to steal a glance at the man behind her without being noticed. _How do I always manage to get myself involved in situations I shouldn't? This is such a mess…_

She thought of the conversation she had overheard that fateful night on the roof. _What am I supposed to do now? I've done my fair share of unpleasant things in life, but help a group of rebels overthrow a King? Iruka-sensei definitely didn't teach us that…_

She sighed. _I wish you were here, Kakashi-sensei. You'd know what to do. _

XxxOxOxOxxX

Through half-lidded eyes, Arthur examined the woman, listening to her sighing, though he suspected she did it without realizing. He was good at reading people, he had been doing that all his life. It was one of the reasons he had survived for as long as he had.

_Well, today sure as hell taught me something about that…_

But even with his sharp eye, out of everyone in this group of misfits, she was the hardest to figure out. Even the other woman, the Mage, seemed easier to understand. She was one of the magic folk, and it was a well-known fact that King Vortigern despised her kind and had hunted her kin down, driving them to the point of extinction. She had every reason to want to see him on his knees.

_But what about this one? _

He shifted his gaze elsewhere, focusing his eyes on the hills in the distance. _What a mess…_

He wondered how the girls back in Londinium were doing. If Back Lack and Wet Stick were looking for him, if they had heard about this whole ordeal. He doubted they hadn't. Hell, the whole Realm had probably heard about it. He had no delusions about what would happen if anyone got wind of him. They'd hand his head to King Vortigern on a silver platter.

_To Hell with this…_

How his life had changed in the span of a few days. He missed the days when unruly Vikings were his biggest problem. It almost seemed like a lifetime ago.

_Look at what they have dragged me into…_He snorted to himself. _Born King and all that horseshite…Joke's on them, they have the wrong guy._

The woman in front of him shifted in the saddle, bringing him back to reality and recapturing his attention. Her clothes were far too big on her and her hair, reaching a bit below the middle of her back, was a tangled mess, covered in dust and still slightly damp from their dive in the river. He still hadn't decided whether her presence was a good thing or not. If anything, she only added to the plethora of questions swimming in his tired mind.

_What the bloody hell am I getting into-_

Abruptly jerked out of his thoughts by a pull at his bounds, he looked down to see the woman's hand holding a strange blade and cutting through the rope.

"Finally came to your senses and-"

"Keep it down." she shushed him, and he immediately sobered up at her tone. He straightened his spine and made to look around, but she clicked her tongue to stop him.

"Don't. Let them think we haven't noticed yet."

Arthur forced his eyes forward, resisting the urge to search the surrounding area. He leaned closer to her ear as subtly as he could. "Them?"

She nodded curtly. "Riders. At least six."

"Fuck." he cursed under his breath. "Where?"

"Don't look. They're hiding in the trees. Right side. I briefly saw light reflect on a sword. That's how I noticed them."

He nodded and, though she couldn't see, he knew that she had felt it. _Six riders. For how long have they been following us?_

"We need to inform him." He motioned to Rubio. "We all need to be alert." She nodded curtly at that and he felt her shift her weight in the saddle, as if she were reading herself for something.

"Oi, blondie!" she called, and Rubio immediately turned to look at her. "How long do you think it's going to take the others to get supplies from the town?"

Arthur stared at the back of her head. _What is she doing?_

"We've been following this road for hours. It's going to be pitch black soon and without any light passing through those trees on the right, we might get lost."

Realization dawned and he fought the urge to smirk. All three of them knew that the others weren't anywhere near the town and her blatant lie would tip off their companion that something was amiss. It was all there in her words. _Pitch black, trees on the right, following…Smart woman… _

Judging by the look Rubio sent their way, he had gotten the message. He smiled widely at them, playing along. "We'll meet them later, lass. For now, we need to keep heading north. Following the tree line, ya know?"

"Aye, let's do that." She leaned back to the point that her back was resting against his chest. "Do you have any weapons on you?"

"Bedivere has the sword," he whispered in her ear, "so I'm afraid I don't."

Using their bodies for cover, she took something out of her pouch and pressed it in his hand. He subtly looked down to see a dagger. It looked old and he wasn't sure what kind of protection it would offer, especially if the riders tailing them had any archers among them, but it was better than nothing.

He nodded his thanks. "We need to do something about them."

"I know. We can't lead them to wherever it is we are going. We follow Rubio's advice and lead them north and I'm guessing away from our real destination."

Humming in agreement, Arthur slipped the dagger in his sleeve. Despite the danger lurking a short distance away from them, he couldn't help but wonder about the woman in front of him.

_How does she know all this? For a woman's mind to be working like that…Who is she really? _

The rustling of leaves on their right broke him out of his thoughts and he involuntarily turned to look. He saw nothing and for a moment everything was silent.

And then it wasn't.

They barely registered the sound of a bow string being pulled before an arrow flew past them, barely missing his head. The horses snorted in agitation, noticing the change in the air. Rubio whistled to get their attention and pushed his horse into a gallop.

"Hold on!" Without missing a beat, the woman dug her heels in the grey gelding's sides and the horse took off at a surprising speed. He barely had the time to grab her waist to keep himself from falling off.

The thundering of hooves behind them alerted them that their pursuers were no longer hiding. Arthur looked over his shoulder and managed to count half a dozen riders.

"There's six of them!" he called and stole another glace at the Blacklegs riding behind them like madmen. The one at the front had his sword drawn. "We need to lose them!"

"We can't! If even one of them returns to the King, these woods will be crawling with Blacklegs before dawn!"

Cursing but knowing that she was right, Arthur looked back at their pursuers to notice that they were getting dangerously close. _Fuck, they are nearly upon us!_

"They're getting closer!" He looked ahead to see Rubio pressing his horse forward, the distance between them increasing.

_Wait a minute-_

"Why the hell are you slowing down? Are you fucking crazy? You are going to get us killed!" he barked at her and found himself at a loss when she smirked at him over her shoulder.

"Hold these for me, will you, princeling?"

Taking the reins from her, he watched in astonishment as she effortlessly climbed over him and, bending down, balanced herself on the horse's buttocks. He got in the saddle, tightening the reins to keep the gelding from getting out of control. Looking back, his eyes widened when he saw her leap from the horse's hind quarters and expertly land on the back of one of the Blacklegs' mounts.

_What the hell!_

Catching the rider in a headlock from behind, she hauled him off the saddle and right under the hooves of the horses. Grabbing the reins of the bay mount to keep it in its course, she jumped to avoid the swing of a sword and kicked the armored guard in the head. Arthur wasn't sure whether it was the guy's neck or his spine that broke first.

_Am I really seeing this? _

Forced to look ahead in order not to crash into a tree, he noticed Rubio too had slowed down and was observing the scene with wide eyes. Turning to look at the woman once more, he caught her just as she was pulling a Blackleg's own blade from the middle of his chest. The man immediately went still and met the ground with a loud 'clang' as parts of his armor banged together.

The fourth Blackleg tried to shoot an arrow through her neck, but she used the bowstring of his bow to strangle him. Grabbing an arrow from inside his quiver, she let his body slide off the saddle and quickly stabbed the fifth guard in the heart. Her deadly precision made Arthur shiver.

With one last guard remaining, she made quick work of him before he could escape. Jumping behind him on the back of his mount, she twisted his neck in one swift motion. The body of the man hit the ground moments later. She got in the saddle and urged the black beast forward to catch up with them.

Noticing that Rubio was slowing down, Arthur pulled on the reins of the grey gelding to turn him around and bring him down to a trot.

The three horses stopped a short distance from each other and for a moment, the three riders remained silent, exchanging uncertain looks. Arthur's blue eyes focused on the woman who shifted under the scrutiny she was probably receiving not only from his but from Rubio too.

Scratching the back of her head, she chuckled nervously. "Umm, hi there."

Arthur just stared. _Bloody hell…_

**TBC**

**Aaaand…there you have it! Chapter Two is here and I hope you enjoyed it! I know, I know, it's shorter than the first chapter but that one mostly an introduction and I wasn't even sure I'd continue with this story when I posted it. **

**Having said that, I'm super thankful for your lovely reviews! I was really surprised by the interest shown in this. It really wasn't what I expected. Needless to say, I'm really excited to see where this goes.**

**Soooo, it's about time I stopped rambling. Once again, I sincerely hope you enjoyed the chapter. **

**I'd love to hear your thoughts so, if you'd like, please take a minute to leave a review! **

**Until next time, **

**Lots of love!**


	3. Chapter 3

Arthur just stared. _Bloody hell…_

Her eyes shifted between them and he guessed Rubio was sporting an expression much like his own. Arthur's mind was reeling. Had he really witnessed all that? How had a woman as frail-looking as her single-handedly defeated half a dozen trained guards?

_She jumped from one horse to the other as if it was nothing…She broke that guard's neck as if it was the easiest thing to do…_

She shifted uncomfortably in the saddle, most likely feeling the weight of both his and Rubio's astonished stares.

_But how…_

Arthur was by no means a fresh lad, but he had never seen anything like that before. He had never seen anyone perform the things she so effortlessly had. Hell, he couldn't even remember ever seeing a woman fight, much less single-handedly take down six men at least twice her size.

_Another thing added to the long list of things I need to wrap my head around…_

"You are going to burn holes in me with all that staring so, I'd appreciate it if you both stopped."

Her voice snapped him out of his inner musings, and he realized he had indeed been staring for far too long. He shifted his gaze to Rubio and for the first time since meeting him, Arthur noticed that the man was lost for words. Unable to control himself, his eyes fell on her once more.

She had her arms crossed across her chest, the reins clutched loosely in one hand. She seemed a bit annoyed though he could tell she was nervous. It was obvious in the way she kept biting her lip.

He could barely keep himself from attacking her with all the questions buzzing around in his head. He doubted she'd answer them anyway.

"Oi! I said stop it!"

Rubio chuckled. "Can't blame me now, can you, lassie? That was one remarkable performance right there."

The horse beneath her snorted and she tugged at the reins, though Arthur was almost sure that she did it to cover her discomfort. It was obvious that she was reluctant to talk about the incident.

_But why? Who taught her to fight like that? Why did she have to learn in the first place? What the hell-_

The sound of thundering horse hooves broke him out of his thoughts and he momentarily feared that they had been yet again discovered by Blacklegs. He sighed in relief when he saw that it was Bedivere and Bill. The men pulled on their reins, bringing their mounts to an abrupt stop.

"We heard the commotion. Are you harmed?" demanded Bedivere, looking around. His gaze immediately fell on the bodies of the guards. "What the hell happened here?"

Rubio snorted in amusement. "You might want to rethink the importance of his presence, Bedivere." he said, motioning to Arthur. "Now that we have her, we might not even need him."

Arthur wanted to smack him, but he refrained from shoving the other man off the saddle. Instead, he watched the expression on Bedivere's face shift from confusion to disbelief.

"This is _your_ doing?"

The woman, Sakura, waved him off. "I just helped out a bit, is all. Nothing serious."

"A bit? Nothing serious?" he heard himself say. "You took down those Blacklegs on your own, woman." He looked at her pointedly. "And you've certainly done it before."

"I told you she was bad news. We should have-"

"-left me there while you still had the chance. Oh, will you stop with that?" she growled at Bill. "Had it not been for me, you would have found them both with swords through their guts, you whiny ass."

Arthur's lips quirked upwards. _Well, won't you look at that…_

The slight flare of her temper told him more about her character than all the hours he had spent riding right behind her put together. Her face betrayed her annoyance, and by the way she was clutching the reins it was obvious that her muscles were tense. It was interesting to watch, and it was quite honestly the most truthful he had heard her be up until then.

"Easy now," he said. "Like it or not, we're still on the same team. You people had the right mind to save this handsome face, so the lot of you can't be that bad." Rattled as he was by not one, but two near death situations, confidence was something he knew well. In the corner of his eye, he saw the woman roll her eyes but at the same time, her lips curled up in a small smirk. _Aren't you a peculiar one…_

Bedivere sighed in exasperation and looked at the woman. "You are hiding things from us."

She snorted. "Oh, I bet you've been completely transparent with me."

Arthur chuckled inwardly. _Witty little minx…_

"I do not ask of you to reveal your secrets. But the fact that you can fight could greatly impact our mission. You might not understand it, but the fate of the Realm rests on our shoulders." Bedivere's voice was not harsh but it was commanding. It was easy to see why the man had been knighted.

She chuckled and Arthur found himself frowning at how humorless it was. "Oh, trust me, I understand. A lot more than you can imagine."

The woman remained silent for a minute after that, and so did everyone else. He couldn't know what was running through her mind but the heaviness in her voice compelled him to believe her words had merit. She _did_ understand. Her eyes seemed calculating, assessing not only the situation but the rest of them too. It was a bit unnerving, her gaze. A bit too bright, a bit too intense.

_A bit too smart…_

After a little while, she relaxed. "Well, you aren't entirely wrong. And since we banded together to save the princeling over there, I guess that makes us a team."

"Does that mean you're fighting with us from now on, lassie?"

"Why, that's exactly what it means, blondie." She flashed Rubio a wide grin. "I busted my butt to keep the princeling's head attached to his shoulders. No one's ruining my hard work if I have a say in it."

"Thank you for talking about me as if I'm not here."

"That's irrelevant, princeling."

"I never could have imagined you had that kind of fight in you, lassie. No offense, but you don't look like a warrior." Rubio noted and Arthur couldn't help but agree.

She chuckled, blowing a lock of hair away from her eyes. "But that's exactly what makes me so good at it."

Her grin was cheeky, and though he couldn't completely shake off his suspicions, Arthur caught himself smiling.

Bedivere still appeared dissatisfied and more than a little mistrusting, but he nodded curtly. "Let's go. Those Blacklegs might be dead, but there could be others. We can't lead them back." He pulled on the reins and started leading them south, away from the fallen bodies. The horses fell in step, with Bedivere and Bill leading and the rest of them bringing up the rear.

"Right, now that you brought that up…is anyone going to tell me where the hell we're going?"

"You didn't tell us you were trained in combat. What makes you think we'd tell _you_ anything?"

She snickered. "Don't sound so annoyed, Billie. I might think you don't like me."

"Trust me, lass, the moment I start liking you is the moment I swallow my bow."

Arthur snorted in amusement and she shifted her green eyes to him.

"Anything you find amusing, princeling?"

He shrugged, flashing her a smirk. "An eye for an eye, woman."

"Sakura."

"Huh?"

"My name's Sakura."

He crossed his arms across his chest and raised an eyebrow. They were both aware that she hadn't stopped calling him princeling throughout their short acquaintance.

"Point taken." She smirked. "Now, just one little thing to settle…" She moved her mount right beside his and without so much as a warning, she shoved him off the grey gelding. "Find your own horse. This handsome boy is mine."

From his place on the ground, Arthur stared up at her with wide eyes, watching her jump from one horse's back to the other's. Snapping out of his daze, he scowled at the triumphant look on her face.

Pulling himself up and on the back of the horse that she had taken from the Blacklegs, Arthur pinned her with a glare. "Wench."

She nudged her gelding forward and flashed him a lopsided grin over her shoulder. "Come and get me, princeling."

His blue eyes lingered on her form for a few seconds longer before he too urged his mount into a light trot and caught up with the rest of their party.

_Watch what you wish for, lassie…Watch what you wish for…_

XxxOxOxOxxX

"W-We lost them…in the woods…T-The woman! It was her doing!"

The guard trembled under the ferocity of his glare.

Rage burned right under his skin, asking to be unleashed upon these useless fools. The more the guard cowered in fear, the angrier he became. He abhorred weakness, but it seemed he was surrounded by nothing but worthless weaklings.

The few people in the room were deathly quiet as he paced up and down slowly. For a few seconds he focused on the rhythmic tapping of his heeled boots as he walked, trying to contain his anger. The whimpering fool kneeling a short distance away was making it hard to concentrate on anything else other than how much he wanted to kill them all.

King Vortigern aimed his harsh gaze at the Blackleg. "You mean to tell me that not only did you let that vermin escape with the Sword, but a _woman_ got the better of you?"

The guard flinched. "I watched her from my hiding place as she took down the others. I had to return and report this. She's a sorcerer, my King! No human woman could have ever done that!"

Vortigern's eyes blazed with a hateful fire as the guard recounted his experience. _A woman…A sorcerer…Curse those abominable mages!_

For a moment, his gaze landed on Maggie, standing straight some distance away. She didn't flinch and kept her head high. He hated it when they didn't fear him. Fear controlled the crowds, fear made people his pawns, fear kept them from disobeying. His late brother never understood that.

_Uther…always valiant and honorable, weren't you, dear brother? Always so disgustingly righteous… _

"She pulled a man from his horse with her bare hands, Sire! And broke another's neck like it was nothing and-"

"Silence!" Vortigern roared and the candles in the room blew out. "I am this close to success and you're telling me that you lost the Sword from right under your nose, you worthless simpleton!" In his anger, he slapped a cup of wine off a table, the loud 'clang' of the object as it hit the floor echoing around the room.

"But, the woman-"

"The _woman_!" he spat the word as if it were poison. "As if it wasn't bad enough that my brother's accursed spawn managed to escape, I now have a peasant wench embarrassing my troops and trying to foil my plans!"

The air in the room was suffocating and getting worse by the second. No one was unaffected by his foul mood, and Vortigern liked it that way. If he were to suffer, they'd suffer too.

_I haven't gotten this far just to be brought to my knees by peasants…_He clenched his fists. _I will crash them, like I did with so many others before them. Like I crashed Uther._

He looked at the two guards standing on either side of the room's door. "Remove this blundering fool from my sight…"

The men immediately sprung to action, pulling the Blackleg to his feet and starting to drag him out the room.

"Mercia…"

The man fell to one knee. "Whatever you command, Sire."

"I don't care if you have to burn down the whole Realm, bring me that woman's head!"

**TBC**

**Hiya, awesome people!**

**Sorry this took longer than expected and that it's not action-packed. It's also a bit shorter. I really want to write but sometimes I do get stuck! These first couple of chapters are always a bit tedious until the characters start having real chemistry. Things will get better from now on, I promise! I'm super excited to finally get to the great stuff!**

**I'm curious, have any of you been having issues logging in to their accounts these past 48-72 hours? I can't seem to be able to log in from my computer. An "Invalid email and password combination" error message keeps popping up. I have contacted support but haven't heard back from them. We shall see! **

**Having said that, I really hope you liked this chapter. Things are going to get more interesting from now on. Sakura is now on Vortigern's radar and that's bound to cause a few remarkable situations! **

**If you'd like, leave a review to let me know what you think! Reading your feedback always makes me happy! **

**Until then,**

**Lots of love!**


	4. Chapter 4

Sakura eyed the group's hideout with a raised eyebrow.

Walking down the uneven steps, she felt the temperature drop, sending a shiver down her spine. The nearly underground cavern was vast, and she could see the dark entrances of individual tunnels leading to Gods-knew-where. The were big holes in the rock of the ceiling, bathing the interior in light, allowing her to take it all in.

The hideout resembled a village more than the headquarters of a rebel group. Hearths burned brightly in every corner, warming the cavern's chilly air, and there were pots hanging above some of them. She could see all kinds of kitchen utensils stacked on wooden tables and chairs, and even washing lines hanging between rocks. A small stream emptied its waters in a well to her right, filling the wide space with the tranquil sound of running water.

Feeling eyes on her, she raised her gaze and looked around. There were people looking down at them, scrutinizing the new arrivals. The alcoves in the moss-covered walls had been turned into makeshift houses with bedding made of burlap and straw. Men and women and children stared at them and it made her wonder what had driven them to go into hiding like this.

_How long have they been living like this? And more importantly, why? _

These people didn't look like rebels, they didn't look like warriors. What kind of a threat could a bunch of villagers ever be to a King? None of them belonged in a place like this. Children weren't supposed to be raised like this.

She watched a little boy emerge from behind his mother's skirts and run to Rubio, who scooped him up.

"Hey Georgie. You been a good lad for your ma and sisters?"

Sakura smiled at the way the boy nodded enthusiastically before jumping down from Rubio's arms and running to his mother. Her mind flew back to the days when she was but a mere child, and beside herself with excitement to start the Academy. She was so eager to grow up back then. Now, there was nothing she wouldn't give to be able to relive those days of innocent naivety.

"Nice place you got here," Arthur said from beside her. "You trying to set up your own little Kingdom?"

In any other case, she would have snorted at those words, but the gravity of Bedivere's expression stopped her. She furrowed her brow, a strange feeling settling in her gut. _Oh boy…_

"I'm interested in the one Kingdom we already have. And you should be too."

She observed Arthur as he took a good look at the people around him. They were waiting for him to say something, it was obvious, and she could easily imagine what they wanted to hear. She doubted Arthur would comply so easily, and if she wanted to be frank, she wouldn't have either, had she been in his place.

"Oh, I see what you're doing here." the blonde man said with a chuckle. "You're trying to get me to fight." He glanced at their faces. "But you are mistaken. I haven't been in a fight in a really long time. I'm good at talking though, I'd be happy to talk."

Bill snorted. "Talking doesn't win wars."

"Guess what, I don't win wars either, fellow."

Bedivere stepped forward. "This is not a game, Arthur. You must take responsibility. This is your father's land; this is your fate."

"Let me stop you right there, old chap." He pinned the older man with his gaze. "You've convinced yourselves that I'm the answer to your problems. Hate to break it to you, but I'm not."

Sakura watched the scene unfold with curiosity. She couldn't fault Arthur for his unwillingness to just take the word of these people at face value. He had no ties to any of them or their cause. From what she had gathered, he had been taken in as an orphan boy and raised by prostitutes, never knowing his birth parents or anything else other than the hierarchy of the streets of Londinium. She had stopped by the fishing town herself a little over a year ago. She had been a complete mess back then, not knowing what to do or where to turn, and she had spent a couple of days in Londinium, gathering supplies by stealing them from street vendors.

_Hell, perhaps we even passed each other on the streets…_

She doubted that though. She wasn't one to forget faces and Arthur was not a man that went unnoticed. She would have remembered him.

"You're trying to get me to do something razzle-dazzle with that sword," he continued, watching each one of the intently as he took careful steps in the chamber. "But I'm gonna tell you right now, I'm not getting drawn into this mess."

_Please, princeling, don't do anything stupid…_

He stopped in front of Bill. "So, get it through your thick skulls, there's no way I'm going to fight."

Sakura was no fool and she never harbored the delusion that Arthur would simply accept what these people were telling him, but even she didn't see what followed coming.

Arthur punched Bill, catching the man and the rest of them completely by surprise, before proceeding to knee Bedivere in the gut and headbutt Percival. Taking advantage of Bedivere's vulnerable state, he pulled the Sword from its sheath, where it had been resting ever since they had retrieved it.

Rubio's hand flew to his own sword and Sakura saw other men gather around, some of them holding daggers. She rolled her eyes. _Way to go, princeling…_

She was tempted to go to Bedivere's side and see if the gasping man was alright. Percival didn't look all that good either and judging by the blood on his face, that headbutt had probably broken his nose. Her fingers twitched, but she resisted her medical instincts. She'd stay out of their way and wait until things calmed down.

Bill, who seemed to have shaken off the pain, pulled Rubio's sword from the younger man's hip and stood opposite Arthur. They swung at each other and the medic had to give it to them, they had skill. Arthur was taller and bigger than Bill, but what he lacked in size the older man made up for in speed and swiftness. Their swords clashed and the clang of steel hitting steel seemed to echo in the cave.

She glanced around, noticing that a whole bunch of people had gathered to watch the scene unfold. _Tsk…Boys…_

A grunt forced her to refocus her attention on the fight. Arthur had managed to hit Bill in the ribs with the butt of his sword, but Bill appeared unfazed and swung at Arthur again.

_So much for staying out of their way._ Sakura sighed. _Alright, this has gone on long enough…_

Just as they were about to attack each other again, the woman swiftly took the weapon from Bill's hand before any of them had time to react, and blocked Arthur's swing.

"Stop it, princeling. Time to act like adults."

He took a step back. "This has nothing to do with you." Then his eyes hardened. "But do not think even for a second that I will go easy on you just because you are a woman." He swung at her and she jumped away.

Sakura chuckled. _Oh Arthur, how ignorant you are…_She rolled her eyes, sighing inwardly. _They never want to do it the easy way…_

Weighing the sword in her hand and adjusting her grip on the hilt, she aimed for his ribs, but he blocked it, making to grab her. She ducked, slipping away. She wasn't nearly as good as Sasuke or Kakashi-sensei with a sword, but she was proud to say that she was way above average, having spent the better part of her teenage and adult years around blade-obsessed idiots. As skilled as these lads were, they'd never compare to a shinobi. She backflipped to avoid a swing at her legs.

_Oh, for the love of all the Gods out there…_

They exchanged blows for a bit and when Sakura was sure that she had him where she wanted, she kicked the Sword from his hand in own swift move. Caught by complete surprise, Arthur had no time to react when she got behind him, locking both his arms behind his back. She kicked his feet from under him and he fell face-first, grunting in pain as his body collided with the ground. Still holding his arms in an iron grip and pressing down on his back with her knee, she motioned to Bedivere to pick up the Sword from where it had landed.

Once it was back in its sheath against the man's hip, she leaned in close to Arthur's face. "Now, I'm going to let you go, so make sure not to do anything foolish."

He grunted in discomfort and growled "wench" under his breath in response.

Rolling her eyes for what seemed like the hundredth time that day, she stood and released his hands. "Behave, princeling."

He stood abruptly, though she was sure it wasn't without pain, no matter how well he hid it. He glared at each one of them. "You people are all out of your fucking minds." With that, he turned around and walked out of the cave briskly.

"Shouldn't one of us go after him?" said Rubio and made to follow the fuming blonde, but Sakura stopped him.

Bill snorted. "Where is he gonna go? A couple of the younger lads have taken the horses away to water them and he doesn't know a thing about these woods. He'll get lost before he covers half a mile."

"I'll go, blondie."

The man frowned at her. "Are you sure that's wise, lassie?"

Sakura flashed him a smile. "I wouldn't have come this far if I couldn't handle an overgrown man-child." As she made her way out of the cavern, she looked at Rubio over her shoulder. "Give Percival some bandages and I'll take a look at his injury when I return."

XxxOxOxOxxX

Tracking Arthur, Sakura noted with amusement, was like tracking a raging bull. It was obvious what path he had taken. She chuckled to herself.

"Fucking hell, bloody idiots and their god damn prophecies."

_Bingo…_

Walking silently through the bushes, she observed him as he paced, angrily running his hand through his hair. He paced for a about two more minutes before he leaned his forehead against a tree bark, sighing deeply.

"Are you finished?"

He looked up abruptly, startled by her presence, and his expression hardened the moment his eyes landed on her.

"What are you doing here?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Looking for you."

Arthur snorted, crossing his arms across his chest. "What, came to rub my face in the dirt again?"

"You should be flattered; I save that move for special occasions only." she said cheekily, hoping to lighten the mood.

"Look at me, I'm ecstatic."

Sakura sighed. _Of course, why would it ever be easy?_ "Look, Arthur, I know you are angry-"

"Angry?" he cut her off, taking a few steps towards her. "I'm fucking furious."

"I know-"

"No, you don't. They're not trying to push this ridiculous old wives' tale on _you_."

She frowned, meeting his gaze. "Are you blind or do you simply not want to see it?"

"See what?" he growled in exasperation. "Listen woman, I am no savior, no matter what old Bedivere and his sad lot have to say. I want nothing to do with this."

Sakura remained silent for a few seconds, mulling over his words, watching him pace. "You don't get a say in when fate calls upon you. The Sword chose you for a reason, and it should be pretty obvious why."

"To hell with that damn sword. My life was perfectly fine before these people and it will return to normal once I'm out of here."

They both knew that was a lie. No matter what happened next, he'd have to live the rest of his life watching his back wherever he went.

"They risked their lives and everything they have to save you, Arthur."

"I never asked them to."

Sakura clenched her fists at that, her temper flaring. "Yet they still did. So, you better show them some respect, you arrogant fool."

Arthur glared at her and he covered the distance separating them in the blink of an eye. He towered over her and his ice-blue eyes flashed as he looked down at her. She barely reached his shoulder, and they were so close she could feel his chest moving as he breathed, but she stood her ground. Sasori hadn't managed to intimidate her, and Arthur wouldn't either.

"What do you think your father would say, if he were here now?" She was treading dangerous waters, but she only hoped that her words would awaken something in him.

He snorted. "I grew up not knowing him. What makes you think I care about what he'd say?"

"We both know you don't mean that."

"What do you know?" he said through gritted teeth, and she could feel his anger and frustration radiating off him in waves.

She met his gaze, unfaltering. For a moment, she searched his eyes. "I had a home too, you know. A home that I loved and fought and bled for."

He didn't move, but his eyes flashed with interest.

Sakura chuckled humorlessly, turning her head away. "The night before your execution, I overheard Bedivere and the others talking. They didn't know I was there, so I managed to sit and listen to them planning your rescue. You want to know what my first thought was?" She looked up at him again. "Get out of here, Sakura. You don't want to get caught up in the middle of another war."

XxxOxOxOxxX

Arthur blinked in surprise at her words. "Another?"

She nodded. "My home was torn apart by war, Arthur. We fought until we no longer remembered what it was we were fighting for. And in the end, there was nothing left. My village was burned to the ground and all my friends were killed."

The man's eyes widened slightly. _But how…_He was a hair's breadth away from her, and as he looked down at her, he couldn't for the life of him picture her in the battlefield. It was ridiculous, he realized. She had proven more than once what she was capable off.

_But she looks so fragile…So breakable…_

"The only reason I'm here right now, is because a person precious to me sacrificed himself to give me another chance at life."

He could see the pain in her eyes. It was right there, right behind her eyelids, threatening to spill down her cheeks.

"And that's why I didn't just leave, that's why I didn't turn my back on you that day. Because I'm no longer living just for myself. I'm also living for all the people that I lost." She took in a deep breath. "And it'll be a cold day in Hell before I disrespect their memory and sacrifice by abandoning those in need."

He didn't know how to reply to that. Honor was something he had never taken seriously. He had never dealt with the honorable, so he had never sought to be one of them. Honor didn't fill the coffers, nor did it keep one's belly full. The world of the streets was a cruel one, honor didn't have a place there.

_How…How does she do this?_

"This Kingdom is dying, Arthur, and its people are dying with it. Your father's people. _Your_ people. Right now, you're their only hope."

A strange feeling settled in his gut. _Guilt_. She was looking up at him so earnestly, that he found it hard to be close to her. He averted his gaze and took a step back, putting some distance between them. "I'm no hero."

"No one's asking you to be. All they're asking is for you to be who you were meant to be."

"And that is?"

She smiled. "A King."

Arthur stared at her for a few seconds, trying to decipher what was hiding behind that smile and those green eyes of hers. Yet again, he failed.

_The Kingdom and its people are dying…_Her words seemed to echo in his mind, turning his stomach into a tight knot. _This is such a bloody mess…_

He ran a hand through his hair and chuckled. "Damn, I guess I'll have to inform Bedivere that the Sword might have chosen me, but I can't hold on to it without fainting."

Her eyes shone with mirth, and he was glad that all traces of her previous solemn mood were gone. "That's understandable. Even without knowing much about it, I can tell that the blade is powerful. You'll have to learn how to channel and control it."

"And that's where it gets tricky. I don't have a bloody clue as to how I'm going to do that."

"I'll teach you."

His head shot up at her words. "You? Teach me?"

She shrugged. "Let's just say that I do know a few things about powerful weapons." Her smile was wide, and he found himself smirking back at her.

"For a wench, you do seem to know quite a lot."

"Watch it, princeling. There's plenty of dirt to rub your face into around here."

"You'll pay for that one day. My jaw hurts like hell, woman."

She seemed to sober up at that, and her face grew concerned. "Let me take a look at it."

"It's fine, no need-"

"I didn't ask for your permission. Sit down and let me take a look."

Sighing deeply and seeing no point in fighting over this, he followed her instructions and sat down. Kneeling before him, she gently took his face in her hands, running her fingers over the bruises and his sore jaw. Her touch was warm, tender, taking extra care not to cause him any discomfort, and he used this chance to observe her.

Her hair, a peculiar shade of strawberry blonde, was covered in dust, and woven into a long braid as she kept it, it was hard to say how long it really was. His gaze moved from her lips to her small nose, and then he met her eyes. They were the kind of green that pushed its way through the piles of gritty snow as a reminder that spring was coming.

_What are you?_

"This will only take a moment."

Her voice broke him out of his wandering thoughts. As she cradled his face, he felt a warm sensation flood his body.

"What-"

And then her hands were alight with green fire.

**TBC**

**New chapter, new possibilities! **

**Hiya, people! I hope you are doing awesome, and that you enjoyed this chapter. Some bonding here between our heroes, and I certainly did enjoy writing the scene where Sakura put Arthur in his place! **

**Sakura is slowly sharing things about her past and showing off more of her abilities. I can't wait to write a great fight scene where she'll be able to display what she's really capable of.**

**I won't tire you with any more of my rambling. I hope you liked this chapter. I'd really appreciate it if you took a minute to leave a review. I love reading your thoughts! **

**Until next time,**

**Lots of love! **


	5. Chapter 5

Arthur jerked his head away, eyes wide. "What kind of sorcery is that?"

Sakura shook her head, resisting the urge to laugh. "I am no Mage, Arthur." She released the chakra from around her hands and she saw him glancing at her fingers, as if expecting something to happen.

"Bloody hell…"

She giggled, her lips lifting in a cheeky smile. "Come on, you overgrown man-child. Let me heal those bruises." She found it exceedingly amusing how his eyes kept shifting between her face and her hands. "I did mention that I know a few things about medicine, didn't I?"

He crossed his arms across his broad chest, frowning at her. "I've met healers before, woman. None of them could do that."

"I guess I'm that special then."

"Stop that. I'm serious."

She sighed. "It's a special ability of mine, you could say. Something I've been able to do ever since I was little." She knew that to this side of the world chakra was unheard of and it meant next to nothing. They would never understand. She shrugged. "In a way, you could call it magic."

"You are a Mage."

"No, I'm not."

"You just said you can do magic."

"I said _you_ could _call_ it magic."

He looked at her intently. "Then what are you?"

Sakura smiled. "I'm a healer." She raised a finger and the telltale green light of her healing chakra shone around it. "See? This is my power, my very essence."

He stared at the orb of light around her fingertip for a few seconds and then his eyes met hers. "You better know what you are doing, woman."

Sakura smiled cheekily. "Only one way for you to find out."

Though he was still wary – she could tell – he let her put her hands on his face. He flinched slightly when green energy engulfed her fingers, but he made no move to pull back. Like all those that experienced the warmth of healing chakra, he soon relaxed, ridding his muscles of the tension.

The yellowing bruises slowly ebbed away, and the cuts on his cheeks and forehead mended back together, leaving behind smooth skin. She prolonged the healing session a little more than was necessary, hoping that the extra chakra would alleviate some of his fatigue. He'd had a harsh couple of days, and she was most likely correct in the assumption that his stay in the King's dungeons hadn't been pleasant.

The light went out from around her hands and she patted his cheek playfully. "Now, that wasn't that bad, was it?"

The man raised his fingers to his face, pressing lightly on the areas where the swelling had been, probably expecting to feel at least a bit of soreness.

With the bruises, cuts, and dried blood no longer marring his features, Arthur was a remarkably handsome man, Sakura noted. Tall and broad-chested, he carried himself with confidence. He had the kind of face that stopped you in your tracks, with his blond hair and sharp jawline and trimmed beard. His eyes, clear and brilliant, were the color of the sky reflected on the frozen surface of a lake.

_Damn…_

"If this healing magic of yours makes me fall ill, I'm hunting you down."

Broken out of her thoughts and thankful for the distraction, Sakura rolled her eyes at him. "Oh, give it a rest, you big baby. We both know you're feeling better than you have in days, if not weeks."

"Irrelevant."

She chuckled, shaking her head at him. _What a stubborn mule of a man…_

Getting up, she dusted her knees – though her breeches were nearly unsalvageable – and clapped his shoulder. "Let's get going, old chap. The others are probably wondering where we are, and I still need to heal Percival's nose." Not waiting for him to get up, she started walking away.

"I didn't hit him that hard, did I?" he said, easily catching up with her.

"You did." She glanced at him in the corner of her eye. "What do you know, your head just might be thicker than you thought."

He glared at her. "Cork it."

The woman snickered. "Oh, I'll cork it, alright. But you're still apologizing to him."

Arthur snorted at her words. "I don't think so, princess. I regret nothing."

"You broke the man's nose. The least you can do is apologize."

"Forget it, darling. That's not how the world of men works." He crossed his arms across his chest, smirking down at her. "There is no way I'm going to apologize."

XxxOxOxOxxX

"I'm sorry for breaking your nose, my good man." he managed to grit out, struggling to say the words due to the headlock Sakura had him in.

The woman snickered, releasing her hold. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

Arthur glared at her, dusting himself off. "You are going to pay for this."

She waved him off, smiling widely. "If I took seriously every single threat I've received over the years, I would have dug my own grave and jumped in by now, princeling."

"You –"

"Now," she clapped her hands together, effectively cutting the man off, "let me take a look at that for you, Percival."

The man said nothing, only walked up to her. She gently took hold of his chin, examining his face from different angles, though the dried blood was making it troublesome to see clearly.

"Blondie, pass me a wet cloth, will you?"

Rubio quickly followed her instructions, tearing a piece of cloth from a tattered old cloak and wetting it under the running waters of the stream. "Here you go, lass."

Mumbling her thanks, the woman carefully wiped the blood and grime off Percival's face, smiling apologetically at the way he flinched when she got closer to his injury.

"I'll fix it up in a minute, I promise." she said encouragingly, and she was grateful to see the small smile that he sent her. She cleaned his face as best she would without straining him and set the cloth aside. "Now, I want you to keep still, ok?"

She placed both hands on his face and took a deep breath. She really wasn't looking forward to the onslaught of questions she knew would follow this little display of hers, but there was no way she was leaving Percival suffer a broken nose when she could do something about it.

Her fingers glowed green, and despite his light wince, Percival made no move to pull back. It made her wonder if he had experienced anything similar in the past. She knew it was unlikely that they had come upon another chakra user, but perhaps the concept of this type of healing wasn't completely unheard of. They did have a Mage in their company after all.

She could vaguely hear gasps and hushed whispers around her, and she could feel multiple pairs of eyes burning holes in the back of her head, but she focused on the task at hand. When she was certain that the man's injury was completely healed, she stopped the chakra flow and offered him a satisfied smile.

"There, all better now."

Astonished and uncertain, Percival touched his nose lightly, then looked at her. In a show of gratitude that Sakura wasn't used to, he bowed his head. "Thank you, my lady. I am in your debt."

The woman chuckled. "Please don't. I'm a healer, it's what I do." Mentally preparing herself for what was to come, she turned around and, flashed the rest of their peculiar party a wide grin. "So, what's for dinner?"

XxxOxOxOxxX

Arthur snorted at Percival's words. _Lady…Give me a break…You poor old sap…_

"I hate to interrupt your exchange of useless pleasantries," started Bill, "but what the hell was that?"

"Are you too an acolyte of Merlin?" added Bedivere. "Has he sent another Mage to aid us?"

Arthur resisted the urge to rub it in her face that he wasn't the only one to think that. Even the other woman, the dark-haired one, seemed surprised. He didn't know a whole lot about Mages and their kin, but it appeared that what she had done was rare even by their own standards.

The woman sighed, rubbing her temples. "Alright, let's be clear. I am no Mage," she said pointedly, "and no, I was not sent by this Merlin you speak of."

"Do you take us for fools?"

"For the love of all the Gods, Bill, listen to me just this once." Her green eyes bore into the older man's, and for the first time since meeting her, Bill chose to step back.

"Now," she continued, "what you just saw is my gift. I was born with it; I've been a healer all my life. Nothing more, nothing less. This," she raised her hand and they all saw the green glow around it, "is what I'm offering to your cause."

Arthur observed her, looking for cracks in her resolve, searching for lies in her determined gaze. He found none. He'd never take anyone's words at face value, especially someone as clever as her, but he was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. If anything, she'd proven herself an asset, despite being one of the most closely-guarded people he had ever met.

And that bothered him.

He wasn't used to not being able to read people. His ability to recognize intentions a mile way had always been the ace up his sleeve in his line of work.

Not being able to see through her was…_unsettling._

"This is exactly the kind of ability you should have told us about." Bedivere frowned. "We can't afford to be caught unawares. Do you even realize how important this is?"

She turned her gaze to him and crossed her arms across her chest. "Let me stop you right there. I may have come to you willingly, I may have chosen to put my life on the line to help you because I do have a moral compass, but I believe I am entitled to guarding at least a few of my secrets until the time is right."

Bedivere furrowed his brow. "The future of the Realm depends-"

"The future of the Realm," she cut him off, her eyes hard, "depends on your ability to choose the right allies."

Bill snickered mockingly. "Is that what you are? The right ally?"

Despite the gravity of the situation, Sakura sent him a grin. "If me saving your necks twice in a mere couple of days doesn't assure you of that, then I don't know what will, Billie."

"The lass is right." All eyes turned to Percival. "She's proven herself a worthy healer and an even worthier ally. We're all in this now."

Arthur raised an eyebrow at that. _What do we have here? Earned yourself a champion, lassie?_ He snorted mockingly at the thought.

"Why, thank you, Percival. One of you has some common sense, at least."

_Huh,_ Arthur smirked, _that sarcasm of yours is gonna be the death of you, woman._

"Merlin help us, we are doomed."

"Oh, poor Billie, who got your breeches in a twist?"

The man glared at her, "You are-"

"Amazing, a genius, immensely talented-"

"A pain in the ass."

Sakura, in all her insolent glory, sent him a disarming smile. "One of these days I'm gonna get you to call me My Lady."

"Good luck with that."

And as unlikely as that seemed, something inside Arthur told him that she would.

XxxOxOxOxxX

Kneeling beside the hearth and making sure that no one was watching, Sakura used a quick jutsu to light a fire beneath the cooking pot. The sun was close to setting, and the others were busy preparing for nightfall. Arthur, Bedivere and Bill were in the woods, covering up their tracks while Rubio and Percival were out hunting. They had more than two dozen mouths to feed, so she could guess that they wouldn't be returning until well after sundown.

She'd wanted to go with them, but that'd leave the cave and the rest of its inhabitants unprotected, and that was a chance no one was willing to take.

_You stay here, princess. Someone needs to keep an eye on this lot. The woods are dangerous after dark_, she could still hear Arthur's words in her mind, and she chuckled to herself at the irony. _If you only knew, princeling, if you only knew…_

Feeling a presence near her, she looked over her shoulder to see the dark-haired woman, the Mage, staring at her intently from a few feet away. Sakura held her gaze, wondering what she could possibly want. The woman had an unnerving stare, as if she could see right through her. It felt…invasive, in a way. As if the Mage had access to her deepest, darkest secrets. It was a foolish notion, but she had never met anyone with eyes as empty as hers.

"Follow me," the Mage said flatly, and not waiting for a response, made her way out of the cave.

Sakura raised an eyebrow at that, curiosity peaked, and followed the shorter woman, flashing a smile at little Georgie as she went. The sun hadn't set yet, but its waning light could barely pierce through the thick foliage of the trees. Had the situation been different, she would have spared a few minutes to enjoy the scenery.

Standing opposite the Mage, Sakura waited for the other woman to speak, though the prolonged silence and the penetrating stare were making her nervous. She could tell that the Mage was observing her carefully, though she couldn't be sure what it was that she aimed to find. Sakura could swear that for a moment, the woman's eyes flashed completely black.

When the Mage finally spoke, Sakura felt the air leave her lungs.

"If you stay, you are not going to survive this war."

**TBC**

**Alrighty! Here's chapter 5 and I hope you enjoy it! **

**I just love writing dialogue between Arthur, Bill and Sakura. It's always so much fun! Also, dear Saki has Percival on her side now. **

**What do you guys think? How's Arthur going to take that? :P**

**Anyway, I'm not gonna ramble…this time. Making no promises for the next! But I sure hope you liked the chapter!**

**I always enjoy reading your thoughts, so if it's not too much to ask, drop me a review to tell me your opinion. **

**Until next time,**

**Lots of love!**


	6. Chapter 6

"If you stay, you will not survive this war."

Sakura's blood pounded in her ears, but she kept her face neutral. She focused her gaze on the Mage and for a moment, she got the feeling that she was staring in the abyss. The most unnerving thing was that the abyss was staring right back.

"I make my own fate." she finally said.

"Fate bows to no one."

Sakura tilted her head. "What makes you think it bows to you or your magic then?"

"The powers at play here are beyond your comprehension."

_Is that so?_ Sakura chuckled. "What you don't understand is that I am beyond your comprehension too." She looked up with a small smirk. "Is this what your kin does? Look into the future and deliver grim prophecies?" Sakura couldn't be sure, but it seemed as if the other woman was glaring at her.

"Merlin's eye sees all, and he has seen your death."

_Well, well…Here we go…That explains how she so easily accepted my presence back then._ She crossed her arms across her chest. "If your Merlin can see all, tell me, will we win this war? Did he see Uther's death at the hand of his own brother?"

The dark-haired woman remained silent for a few moments. "His magic is powerful, but some things even he can't control."

_Bingo…_Sakura smirked. "In my experience, fate is a fickle thing. And I happen to be the master of my own."

"Your disregard for your very own destiny is a blasphemy."

Behind that mask of cold indifference, the woman was annoyed, Sakura could tell. "What makes you think I haven't beaten death already?"

"No one has the power to beat death."

Had the situation been any less serious, Sakura would have laughed. "That's where you are wrong, Mage. I have escaped death's clutches and robbed him of his prizes countless times before. Death fears me."

The dark-haired woman tightened her fist on her cloak and for some reason, Sakura got a sense of accomplishment at having broken her stony composure. She knew that she was committing hubris in the eyes of the Mage, but she was so damn sick of people deciding her fate for her.

"You have no idea what awaits you. You will leave this world covered in blood and with screams of pain and suffering in your ears."

_Well, that's encouraging…_

Sakura regarded the other woman for a few moments. Finally, she shook her head and chuckled. "So be it. I can think of worse ways to go and I will make sure to raise hell before I do. You can bet that blood won't be my own." She swiftly turned her back to the dark-haired woman, effectively ending the conversation. It would be a lie to say that the woman's words hadn't rattled her, but she kept her composure and her head high.

She had only managed to take a few steps towards the direction of the cave, when the Mage's voice stopped her.

"You walk a fine line between life and death."

Looking over her shoulder, Sakura smirked. "But you see, Mage, walking that line, I feel right at home."

XxxOxOxOxxX

_Well, shit…_

Resting her back against the bark of a tree, Sakura slid down to the ground and pulled her knees to her chest. She sighed, looking into the night. She could see a barely noticeable light a short distance away, marking the flickering flames of the hearths within the rebels' cave.

_I'll have to talk to them about that later…_

Though the woods around her were silent save for the sound of crickets, she couldn't find peace. It would be a terrible lie to say that the Mage's words hadn't rattled her. With everything that had happened, it hadn't occurred to her just how serious the repercussions of her involvement with a wanted group would be. It was easier to just ignore them; it was safer to simply face each situation as it arose.

_This used to be so much easier…_

She was a shinobi; she had made her peace with death a long time ago. And while she had every intention of staying alive for as long as she could, death didn't scare her. Each mission she'd gone on could have ended in her not coming back. Dying for the sake of the village was an honorable death, a desirable death.

_Am I still a shinobi though?_ she thought, leaning her head against the tree. _With no home to return to and no family to call my own, what am I fighting for?_

It would be easy to say that she was fighting for them; for Arthur and the rebels. They had a cause too, they wanted to make things better for everyone, or so it seemed. Wasn't that enough? Truth be told, it should have been enough. But it was hard. It was hard to accept that she had nothing left, not even a scrap, from her old life.

_Is this what I'm doing now? Holding on to a mere memory? _

She'd fought wars and she had killed thousands for her family and friends, without ever stopping to ask herself if what she was doing was right. Arthur and the rebels had everything to lose. Hell, a whole kingdom had everything to lose.

And yet, it just wasn't the same.

Had the situation been different, if, by some twisted miracle, it had been in Konoha's best interests to stand by King Vortigern, she would have ended the lives of the rebels without a second thought. It was a harsh truth, but it would be a terrible lie to say that she would have done anything different. She would have killed all of them without asking for justification. Whatever Konoha needed. It had always been about Konoha.

_Am I filling a void? Or…or am I just trying to find forgiveness for everything I've done?_

The Mage's words echoed in her mind. '_You will not survive this war…' _

She closed her eyes, breathing deeply. _Is this it? Am I simply living on borrowed time?_ She should have made her peace with these thoughts a long time ago. She should have accepted the fact that there was no Konoha to return to, not anymore. But it was hard. It was hard letting go of everything she'd ever known. It had taken her years to let go of Sasuke. It would be naïve to expect that she'd ever be able to let go of Konoha.

She'd never been good at moving on.

_You should have left me to die with you, Naruto…Look at the life you've condemned me to…Living in the shadow of a memory, yearning for something I can never take back. A life without you…_

His sad blue eyes flashed at the forefront of her mind and she instantly regretted her thoughts, feeling the sting of her own words. She gritted her teeth, inwardly cursing herself for her selfishness. She had no right to blame anything on Naruto. He'd protected her, without giving his own wellbeing a second thought.

_Like he always did…_She sighed deeply, hoping to exhale and simply rid herself of all her troubled thoughts. _I'm being so unfair…_

To Naruto, for wallowing in self pity and dishonoring his sacrifice. To Arthur and the rebels, for not fully dedicating herself to their cause as she had promised she would. And to herself, for not letting go, for not allowing herself to start anew.

Because starting anew meant putting Konoha behind her and that meant accepting that all her friends, everyone she had ever cared about, were gone.

_A world without you is a scary world, Naruto…_

She looked down to see that she had unknowingly been pulling and tearing at the patch of grass around the tree she was leaning against.

_Stop it, you ungrateful idiot. You are alive, you are still here. Naruto would want you to live, they all would want you to live. Feeling sorry for yourself and being stuck in the past is an insult to their memory…_

She raised her hand to eye level and sent a small burst of chakra to her fingers. The familiar green light danced on her fingertips, illuminating her face, bathing her surroundings in its eerie glow.

_Get a grip, Sakura. Konoha lives in you…_

"You doing your magic tricks again, wench?"

The sound of Arthur's voice broke her out of her thoughts, and she turned to look at him. He stood a few feet away from her, leaning against a tree, with his arms crossed across his chest. Had she been so lost in thought that she hadn't felt him approach?

"How long have you been standing there?"

He pushed himself off the tree and sat down beside her. "Just got here. You were nowhere to be seen when we returned to the cave from the hunt. I think I told you to stay there. The woods are dangerous after dark."

Sakura raised an eyebrow at him. "I did crash your execution willingly, didn't I? There's not one thing in these woods more dangerous than that."

The man snickered. "Point taken. Though I still don't see why you did that. Seems like a stupid thing to do."

"That's my specialty. I do stupid things for a living."

"I've noticed."

"Tsk…So ungrateful." She smirked up at him. Even seated, Arthur's masculine frame towered over her.

"Forget it, princess. I've already said my thanks, don't expect anything more from me," he said, sending her a lopsided grin and flicking her forehead.

The familiar move caught her by surprise, though Arthur couldn't possibly know what it meant to her or the memories it brought back. Her eyes widened and she absently noted that Arthur's brows knitted together in worry at how she suddenly froze in place. Her mind flew years back and for just a moment the woods melted away to be replaced by a familiar street and a ramen stand she knew all too well.

She was sitting with her team after one of their grueling training sessions, a steaming bowl of Ichiraku's best ramen placed in front of her. Naruto was chatting loudly with Sasuke, all the while gulping down his own food as was his habit. Kakashi-sensei was there too, and he was smiling at her that special smile of his and flicking her forehead.

And then she was crying silent tears she couldn't control, not really seeing Arthur or how alarmed he became at the sight of her watery eyes.

XxxOxOxOxxX

He never expected her to start crying and for a moment he stood frozen in place, not knowing what to do. He had never been good with crying women. Or crying men. Or crying people, in general.

"Sakura, I'm sorry…I-I-" he tried to apologize, though he had no idea what he was apologizing for. He racked his brain for anything in their short conversation that could have caused such a reaction, but he came up empty handed.

She didn't appear to have heard him, for her eyes remained moist and unfocused, and suddenly it dawned on him that he had somehow triggered a memory or a feeling or _something_ from her past. For a moment, Arthur wanted to kick himself, though he couldn't have possibly known. It was disconcerting seeing her like that. So rattled, so…fragile. It didn't fit her.

She was crying but she wasn't making a sound. There was no sobbing or shaking shoulders or uncontrolled hiccups. Silently, the pearl-shaped tears rolled down her cheeks from her wide luminous eyes, leaving no smears or streaks. There was a rawness to it, like the pain was still an open wound. She was the picture of grief and loss, her face that of one who had suffered before and didn't know if she could do it again.

Her tears were slow and desolate and in a twisted way, in that very moment of her weakness, he thought she was-

_Beautiful…_

The thought startled him just as it entered his mind, though he couldn't deny how truthful it was. Shaking his head to regain his composure, he slowly raised his hand to her face, and used his thumb to gently wipe away some of her tears.

His touch seemed to bring her back from her trance and finally, her gaze regained focus. She looked up at him, her brilliant green eyes boring into his.

Arthur didn't say anything. There was nothing to be said. He cupped her cheek and pulled her closer, gently coaxing her to lay her head on his shoulder. She didn't resist him, allowing him to guide her. She leaned her body against his side, hair spilling over his shoulder and down his chest.

Within minutes she was asleep and not long after, he was too.

**TBC**

**Alrighty! This took a lot longer than I would have wanted but my internship at the vet clinic -yay!- takes most of my day and is absolutely exhausting. Not complaining though! I get to spend my days among puppies and kittens and sometimes, even foals! I'm living the dream! **

**Anyway, I hope you forgive me for taking so long to update, but most importantly, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. **

**Drop me a review to share your thoughts! **

**Hope to hear from you! **

**I'll endeavor not to take so long to update!**

**Until next time, **

**Lots of love! **


	7. Chapter 7

Sakura felt warm.

The feeling spread throughout her body, comforting and hypnotizing, robbing her of any resolve to open her eyes. She could almost hear every single cell in her body screaming at her not to move. It'd break the magic; it'd destroy this soothing calmness. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been this at ease.

_Damn, Naruto. You shoulder has gotten a lot more comfortable…_

Instinctively, she snuggled closer to the warmth, burying her face deeper into some kind of soft material. The musky smell of earth and pine combined with something else she couldn't quite place assaulted her nose and she breathed it in hungrily.

A deep chuckle broke the silence, and someone lightly flicked her forehead.

_Who…Sasuke? No, that can't be right…_

With the fog of sleep slowly abandoning her mind, she shifted her head slightly, and through half-lidded eyes she spied the green of the earth and the thick foliage of the trees around her.

_What…Where-?_

She looked down at her hands. They were fisted tightly on soft fabric that had been white as some point in time. As her vision cleared more and more, she realized the she was leaning against someone. She could feel the rise and fall of their body as they breathed. Slightly startled, her head shot up, and despite the short spell of dizziness that followed, she found herself looking at Arthur's sharp jawline.

"'Bout time, little wench. I was starting to think that you might have died." His lopsided grin was teasing, and he winked down at her playfully.

_What…?_

Memories from the previous night came rushing back to her along with the dawning realization that this was not the position she had fallen asleep in. She was sitting between Arthur's legs, snuggled up against his body, her head resting on his chest. With all traces of sleep gone, she jumped up, untangling herself from the man. She could feel the heat rushing to her cheeks.

More than a little embarrassed, she stole a glance at her companion to see him watching her, playful grin still in place. He stood, dusting himself off.

"Won't you look at that…Are you embarrassed, wench?"

Sakura was momentarily caught off guard, as she wasn't used to Arthur being so openly teasing with her, but she quickly regained her composure and scowled.

"I don't know what you are talking about," she huffed, crossing her arms across her chest. He stepped closer, and she resisted the urge to take a step back in return.

"Oh, really? Me thinks you do."

"Utter nonsense." She was glad that her voice was steady, even though her heart was racing in her ribcage. She was almost sure that Arthur was simply taking his revenge on her for manhandling him the previous day.

_Son of a bitch…_

Out of nowhere, he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer, trapping her against his chest. The look in his eyes was predatory. "No need to be embarrassed, wench. You wouldn't be the first woman to wake up between my legs."

His words stunned her for just a moment, not expecting something like that to come out of his mouth, but she quickly shook it off and rolled her eyes at him.

_Men and their egos…Scratch that, Arthur and his ego…_

"I'd watch my mouth if I were you, princeling, lest you find yourself with nothing between your legs."

Giving his chest a harsh shove to put distance between them, she clicked her tongue in irritation and flipped her braid over her shoulder defiantly. Not waiting for his reply, she turned around and started heading back to the caves.

XxxOxOxOxxX

Arthur watched her go with an amused expression on his face, his eyes shamelessly lingering on the swaying of her hips.

_You damn spitfire…_

Riling her up was dangerously close to becoming his new favorite pastime. So many faces this woman had. She could go from docile to a bloody raging storm in the blink of an eye. It was interesting to observe, to say the least. He also enjoyed watching her make Bedivere and Bill squirm.

_Serves them right, the posh bastards…_

Adjusting his sword belt, he started walking the same path she'd disappeared off to. It was better this way. He knew the others would ask questions; they'd want to know where they'd been all night. And he honestly had no idea what he was supposed to say. Sakura would know though. She could share whatever she wanted to share with the other misfits and he'd simply corroborate whatever she said. It was not his place to spill her secrets, and he certainly had no intension of making an enemy out of her.

He was a lot of things, but daft was not one of them. He could recognize a worthy ally when he saw one, and though it was notoriously difficult to earn his trust, he knew it was in his best interests not to cross the woman.

Unwilling though he was, he couldn't help but allow his mind to fly back to last night's events. He couldn't shake the image of her weeping, so vulnerable and heartbroken, grieving her past life.

_War…_She'd mentioned war and her home ravaged by it. She'd mentioned someone important giving up his life to salvage hers. _What a terrible burden to carry…_He wasn't the most righteous man out there but having to live with that kind of knowledge would weigh heavily even on his shoulders. _How many people did she lose?_ Then another thought entered his mind. _Could she be the last one left? Did she lose…everyone?_

The thought made him shudder. He had an idea of how his life had started. Found and raised by a bunch of prostitutes in a brothel, probably born to a peasant woman who couldn't feed any more mouths and had left him to float down the river to get rid of him.

That brothel and those women had given him a home and he couldn't even entertain the notion of losing them. As dysfunctional as they were, they were still the only family he'd ever known. His mind immediately flew to Lucy.

_Oh, poor sweet Lucy…_

He clenched his fists in anger, the image of the blade running against the skin of her fair throat forever engraved in his mind.

_You are going to pay for that, you bastards…Every single one of you…_

His pleasant mood from earlier in the morning completely ruined, he swore under his breath and tried to focus on the path before him. He still had to think about what his next move was going to be.

_One does not simply decide to overthrow a King…_

To be frank, their odds didn't seem all that good. What was their ragtag group supposed to do against the King's whole army? They all knew what Vortigern was capable of, and Arthur wasn't as naïve as Bedivere to believe that a single magic sword would save them. The was absolutely no doubt that the King already had all kinds of scoundrels after them. Blacklegs, bounty hunters, common townspeople in desperate need of coin…

_We are depressingly outmatched…_

His lips thinned grimly. _This whole thing is going to be the death of me, I swear to Gods Old and New…_

For just a moment, the thought of simply walking away from all of them crossed his troubled mind. It wouldn't be too hard. Right that moment, he could simply turn around and disappear into the woods. He'd eventually find his way to some village or town where he could ask for directions to the nearest port and from there he could just pose as sailor. He could leave Camelot and all this mess behind him forever. Granted, he'd never be free from King Vortigern's shadow, but he'd stand a chance. No one would know, not Bedivere, not Bill, not Percival.

_She would know…That damn hellion would know…_

He ran a hand through his disheveled hair, wishing, for the umpteenth time, that he could go back to when rowdy Vikings and drunk regulars at the brothel were his biggest problems. He kicked a stone as he walked, cursing his luck.

_Well,_ he though humorlessly, _look at the bright side, old chap. At least you have a magic sword. That has got to count-_

Before he could react, an arm shot out and grabbed him, pulling him roughly behind the cover of a tree. A hand pressed against his mouth stopped him from crying out in alarm, and for a moment he feared that they'd been discovered.

"Stop struggling, princeling," a familiar voice hissed in his ear and he immediately allowed himself to relax at the sight of her bright green eyes. Her hand dropped from his mouth and despite his annoyance at being shoved around like a ragdoll, he smirked down at the woman, who was pressed up tightly against him.

"Came back for more, darling?" he said, hoping to ruffle her feathers once more, but his words turned to ashes in his mouth when he saw the deep frown on her face. "What's wrong, wench?"

"Shhh!" she demanded harshly and covered his mouth with her hand again. Still, she clearly noticed the question in his eyes, for she was quick to fill him in. "Blacklegs."

And it was at that moment, that Arthur's ears caught the sound of nocking arrows.

**TBC**

**I know, know! Chapters don't come quick enough! Thank you, you awesome wonderful people, for sticking with me and putting up with my stupidly-late updates! **

**I hope you liked the chapter! Another battle is coming up next, so stay tuned! **

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**Until next time!**

**Lots of love!**


	8. Chapter 8

And it was at that moment that Arthur's ears caught the sound of nocking arrows. The Blacklegs obviously hadn't seen them yet, or they would have already been dead, but it was only a matter of time before someone noticed their presence. They couldn't stay hidden forever.

_Well shit…_

"We can't let them find the hideout, or we're done. Even if we manage to escape without much damage, the villagers don't stand a chance. They will be either killed or taken captive. I'd put my money on the former." she whispered harshly, her eyes darting around.

Arthur cursed under his breath. "But what if they've already found them?"

She shook her head. "Unlikely. Had they captured the others, they'd already be parading them around like livestock to get us to either surrender or betray our position."

She was right. These bastards were arrogant, if the bloody moron that had taunted him at his almost-execution was any indication. Had they managed to capture Bedivere, they would have made a show out of it. The man was second only to him in terms of being hunted by the Crown.

"Alright," Arthur breathed out. "This is what we are gonna do. I'll get their attention and lead them away from you and the people. The moment you see an opening, rush back to the others to warm them and-"

"Absolutely not." she hissed, and Arthur was startled by the vehemence in her voice. "It's you they want, princeling. I'm not about to hand you over to them on a silver platter. _I_ will lead them away, and _you_ will go find the others and help them keep any stray Blacklegs away from the caves. I'll come find you later."

"This is not the time to be hard-headed, wench-"

"Is that what you think I'm doing? Simply challenging your authority?" She dug her nails in his arm. "I'm trying my damn hardest to keep you alive, Arthur, so you better help me out here."

Arthur frowned, the same frown that had sent many a man looking to hide in the past, but she met his stare defiantly, her green eyes harsh. She was right, he knew. She was god damn right. The King and his cronies were after his head, not hers. Putting himself out there with a bunch of bows ready to put a hell lot of holes in him was folly.

But how was he supposed to let her take the hit for him?

_She can take care of herself. You've seen what she's capable of, boy…_

Still, the odds were not on their side. As skilled as she was, not even she could take on a little army of armed Blacklegs and come out unscathed.

As if she knew what he was thinking, she pinched his cheek lightly. "Don't you trust me, princeling? I healed your wounds, and I have not killed you yet. And that says a lot considering how big of a pain in the ass you are." She sent him a cheeky smile to lighten the mood, but he could see her eyes darting around. The Blacklegs were still there, and they were waiting.

He grabbed her arms a little below her shoulders, clenching his fingers more than he should. "Promise me." he said lowly. "Promise me that you won't do anything stupid. You lead them away, you keep your distance, and you come find us. No heroics, no stupidity."

"Don't be absurd, princeling. When have I ever done-"

"Promise me!" he growled, tightening his hold on her.

The force in his voice startled her and she looked up at him curiously. Then her eyes softened. "I promise." she breathed out and pulled back.

He let his hands fall from her arms, but he immediately felt an acute sense of loss as he watched her crouch low and move farther away swiftly, using the trees for cover.

They both knew she wouldn't be keeping that promise.

XxxOxOxOxxX

Sakura made sure her back was turned to Arthur before she started going through the complicated hand signs for a simple, but effective Genjutsu that Kakashi-sensei had taught her.

Over her shoulder, she dared a glance at Arthur. She found him staring at her intently, waiting to see what she was about to do.

_Too bad you are going to miss the show, princeling…_

She winked at him playfully, hoping that the light-hearted gesture would reassure him if only a little bit, and took off in the opposite direction from where Bedivere and the others were.

_Now, let's go do something stupid…_Despite the situation, she found herself grinning. _Man, Arthur is going to fly off the handle if he ever finds out._

She could already hear the footsteps of at least a dozen soldiers behind her. She kept her pace steady, taking sharp turns through the trees, making sure to be just outside of shooting range. She remained in their field of sight, luring them to keep hunting her.

_Show time…_

XxxOxOxOxxX

Kilf and his party took off after the woman the moment they caught a glimpse of her darting through the trees. Off to his left, the rest of them -ten Blacklegs with Llurs leading them- were chasing after the man who had drawn the Sword from the stone. Even if he still had the blade on his person, there was no way he could take on ten trained soldiers. It was only a matter of time before Llurs caught him.

The woman ahead of them was fast, Kilf would give her that. She moved swiftly, never in a straight line, making it nearly impossible to hit her, but they never lost sight of her. Her hair, a peculiar shade that he had never seen before, swished behind her as she ran. Like a torch in the dead of night, it was a stark contrast to the gray woods around them.

_Lord Mercia says she be a Mage…These blasted freaks and their magic bollocks._ He cursed under his breath. _Of course, I got meself this one. Llurs that son of a whore…Wants the big coins for 'im. _

He was broken out of his thoughts by someone on his left shooting an arrow at the woman, though it never even got close to hitting her.

"Don't shoot, you bloody moron!" Kilf barked at the man. "You're goin' to hit one of us!" It was hard talking while trying to keep up with that blasted Mage, but Kilf gritted his teeth and kept going.

The woman had turned from a mere annoyance to a top priority overnight, though he couldn't see why. Their King had taken out most of those Mages before. What harm could one more do? He didn't care to ask the man himself, and he wouldn't be asking Lord Mercia anytime soon. He didn't care, and he didn't ask questions. All he needed was his pay, and if this woman's head meant more coins in his pocket, then so be it. Mage or not, he was going to put a sword through her gut before the day was over.

Kilf smirked at the thought of the pouch of gold awaiting him. He'd drink the tavern's finest ale and eat their finest food and share his bed with their finest lasses.

_Ah, ain't that a nice thought…_

And then the woman was gone from their sight, people were screaming and the ground beneath their feet split open…

XxxOxOxOxxX

"Surround him! Don't let him escape!" yelled Llurs. "Don't let the bastard escape!"

His men followed his command, like the well-trained dogs they were. He was known to punish anyone who defied him severely; he didn't care. If fear ensured their obedience, then so be it. He didn't need their love. All he needed was for them to listen to his fucking orders.

Llurs sprung forward, his dark eyes gleaming with unveiled glee at the prospect of bringing this man's head before the King.

_But no…I can't kill him. King Vortigern wants him alive, wants to do the honors himself. Well, as long as he is still breathing, His Majesty won't mind if he's a little banged up, will he?_ He smirked at the thought.

"Llurs! Llurs, look!"

Broken out of his thoughts, his gaze focused ahead, to where his man was pointing. His eyes widened. The man was slowly disintegrating like dust in the wind right before him.

"Impossible!" someone shouted on his right.

"What kind of sorcery is this?!"

Llurs' teeth gritted at that, his lungs burning. _The Mage! Did that blasted spawn of the Devil put some kind of hex on us? _

A mix of astonishment and fear swirling in his gut, Llurs ran faster, as fast as his legs could carry him. _Come on, boy. Just a little more. You're nearly on him!_ He pushed his body to its limits, his lungs burning. He didn't know if the others were still following him, he didn't care. All that mattered was catching the man before him, even if the Mage had put a curse on them.

_That's it! This is a trick. She's making it seem as if he's disappearing to throw us off. I will not fall for it, you devilish whore._ He smirked triumphantly when he noticed that he was getting closer, the distance between him and the fleeing man decreasing with each step he took. _I got you now, bastard!_

Llurs' arm shot out, aiming to grab him, but as his fingers made contact with his target's shoulder, his hand went through thin air, as the man they were supposed to catch exploded in a cloud of dust and leaves.

Llurs fell forward, landing with his face in the mud, but he quickly sprang up, adrenaline rushing through his veins. He looked around frantically, searching for any sign of their target. His men stood around him, shocked, not knowing what to do after what they had just witnessed.

"Where is he?" Llurs gritted his teeth. "Where is he?!" he roared, making some of his younger men flinch and back away.

"Scour the forest! Burn it down, if you have to! But find him-"

Llurs never got to finish his sentence as the ground beneath them started to shake and domes made of mud and wood closed above their heads.

The last thing he heard was the terrified screaming of his men.

XxxOxOxOxxX

Sakura backflipped to avoid an arrow, before retaliating with one of her shuriken. Grabbing a sword from one of the bodies littering the forest floor, she raised it to block a Blackleg's swing. The clash of metal against metal made her ears ring, but it was not a sound she wasn't used to. The force of the impact was so strong that a shard of metal broke off from the soldier's sword and embedded itself in her shoulder, but she paid it little mind. The wound was as insignificant as a mosquito's bite.

Ducking to avoid a swing at her neck, she kicked the legs from under the Blackleg and put the sword through his gut, making sure to deliver a fatal blow that would kill him quickly. Killing to save her own skin was one thing, but making people suffer was something else entirely.

The forest floor around her was destroyed, littered with both bodies and debris of all kinds. She had probably put a little more force in that punch than was necessary. _Oops…_

She used the blade of the sword in her hard to block the arrows coming her way. The sword was heavier than she was used to, but it was balanced and sturdy. _This thing has a nice swing._ Turning on her heels with the grace of a talented dancer, she took down a Blackleg trying to catch her from behind. _Come on, folks. This barely counts as a warmup!_ she thought as her fingers flew through the hand signs for an Earth Release. The ground shook as the mud and stone swallowed the remaining Blacklegs. A little earlier she had heard the cries of the second party of soldiers chasing Arthur's likeness deeper in the woods, in a completely different direction from where the man actually was. As she had hoped, the soldiers had fallen right into her Genjutsu trap, hook, line and sinker.

It was hard performing an Earth Release from such a distance, but judging by their terrified voices, it had worked, and they were no longer a threat. _Good. Gods know we have enough of those to last us a lifetime. _

Letting the sword fall from her hand, she looked around. The scale of the devastation around her was definitely remarkable, but nothing compared to what usually happened when Team Kakashi engaged in one of their training sessions.

_Oh well_, she thought as she set about fixing the landscape and disposing of the bodies. _Nothing that a bit of chakra won't fix._

Using her natural affinity for Earth-based jutsus, she brought the forest back to its original state, making sure to have the ground swallow the bodies as she did so. She couldn't do much about the uprooted trees, but at least the people from the caves could come and chop them up. They needed the wood for their hearths and fires. The upcoming winter would be a cold one, she could feel it in her bones.

Her mind flew to Arthur and the others. _Don't worry, Sakura. They are alright. They can take care of themselves._ She pushed her worry away, chastising herself for not having more faith in them. They had made it this far; they could keep themselves alive for a while until she found them again.

A rustling in the bushes made her roll her eyes. "Come out now, kids. I don't bite." She nearly laughed at their pathetic attempts to be quiet. She'd taken notice of their presence nearly a quarter of an hour ago, when her short battle with the Blacklegs had started.

For just a moment the rustling stopped before she heard hushed whispers, though she suspected they didn't know she could hear them.

"That be a lass speaking?"

"Don't be stupid, stupid. Why would a girl be with a bunch of Blacklegs?"

"How should I know? Do I look like a Blackleg to you?"

"Could she be someone they picked up at a brothel?"

Sakura's brow twitched. _Did he just call me a whore?_

"I don't know, moron, why don't you ask her?"

The woman rolled her eyes, fed up with their useless banter. _Alright, this game's up._ As silent as a cat, she walked up to their hiding place and pushed the bushes to one side, coming face to face with two men. One was taller than the other, and slimmer, with dark skin and a dagger hanging from his belt. The other, a chubbier man and obviously older, was on his back, pulling at his binds. Their hands were tied and there were bags covering their faces. She pulled the rough material from over their heads and for a moment they looked away as the sunlight suddenly assaulted their eyes.

"What the hell-"

"Now, now. Is that any way to speak in the presence of a lady?" she said, watching in amusement as their eyes widened at the sight of her.

"What-"

"A woman?!"

"Oi, stop it!" she barked, unwilling to have her presence questioned by strange men again. "Who are you two? Why did those Blacklegs arrest you?"

As if remembering that they were still prisoners, they frantically started looking around. "The Blacklegs! Where are they? Oh, we are so dead!"

"Calm down, buddy." she said, crouching in front of them, her eyes meeting those of the chubbier man. "The Blacklegs are currently indisposed. Now, answer my questions."

"I'm Back Lack." he said carefully. "And that's Wet Stick. We're from Londinium. Those blasted Blacklegs dragged us all the way out here."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Really now? And pray tell, what did you do to warrant such an escort? I would advise you against lying to me."

The two shared a look before the dark-skinned one, Wet Stick, spoke. "They came looking for our friend, Artie."

"They came looking for 'im." Back Lack confirmed with a nod. "Tore down half the houses of Londinium to find him. But they never did. That's why they got us. They thought we'd lead them to him."

"But we can't. Because we have no idea where Arthur is."

Sakura's green eyes widened slightly at that. "Arthur? You mean, tall, blond and arrogant Arthur? Blue eyes? Big mouth? Thinks he's better than everyone?"

The men perked up. "That's him! Do you know where he is? Is he alright?"

Sakura chuckled. _Well, I'll be damned…_ She stood, pulling them up along with her. "Alright, boys. This is your lucky day. I'll take you to your friend Artie." She snickered at the ridiculous nickname. She was never going to let him live that down. "Come along now, we don't have all day."

She started to walk away leisurely, listening to them scuffle to get up and follow her.

"Aren't you going to untie us, lass?" Back Lack asked, motioning to his tied hands.

"Of course not," she said cheerily. "Do you take me for a fool, buddy? I'll take you to Arthur and have him confirm your identities. _Then_ I will untie you." They grumbled something under their breaths, but she paid them no mind. She began whistling a merry tune she had heard from a street vendor of Londinium and started heading towards the caves.

XxxOxOxOxxX

Arthur paced anxiously around the cave, looking up every now and then for any signs of Sakura.

"Will you stop? Watching your back and forth is driving me crazy."

Arthur glared at Bill. "Here's an idea. Shut up or I'll gouge your eyes out. Problem solved."

"She will be just peachy. There is no way that hellcat would do us the favor of getting lost in the woods, if you ask me."

Arthur was ready to turn around and tell Bill exactly where he could shove his opinion, but Rubio's voice stopped him.

"Someone's coming! I see the silhouettes of three people!"

_Three?_ Around him, Bill, Percival, and Bedivere pulled their swords from their sheaths, preparing themselves. He followed their example, not knowing whether he should be more worried about themselves right then and there or Sakura, who was still somewhere out there all alone. They moved closer to the opening of the cave, preparing to defend the hideout, should the situation call for it.

"Billie! Oi, Billie! Come out, come out wherever you are!"

A grin broke out across his lips at the sound of her voice and a tremendous way lifted from his shoulders the moment he finally saw her form appear through the trees. Bill's angry scowl at her words was nearly as satisfying as seeing her alive and well.

Arthur smirked, but then a moment later his eyes widened when he noticed the two men following behind Sakura with their hands tied.

"Back Lack? Wet Stick?"

"Oh, won't you look at that. They were telling the truth. You _do_ know them." said Sakura, now standing just a few feet away from him. She turned to the bound men with a pleasant grin. "You heard the princeling, boys. Let me cut those ropes for you." She took a step towards them, hands reaching for one of her knives in her pouch.

And then her knees buckled, and she dropped to the ground with a loud thud.

"Sakura!" Arthur rushed to her side, and immediately checked her pulse. It was there, but it was faint. "Sakura!" he called again, but the woman was unconscious.

"What's going on?" Bedivere and Percival kneeled beside him. "Is she hurt?"

Arthur did not answer, mostly because he didn't know what to say. He put her head on his lap, hoping to make her a bit more comfortable, and pushed her hair away from her face. As her tresses fell to the side, Arthur noticed a strange stain on her clothes. When he pulled her shirt down, the sight that greeted him made his him gasp.

On her shoulder, oozing a foul black liquid and smelling of festering flesh, was a big purple wound. And it was spreading…

**TBC**

**Hey guys! Long time no see! I know, I know, there seems to be a pattern there. Ooops! Sorry! **

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I certainly did enjoy writing it! A bit more action and a lot more moment between Arthur and Sakura. I don't know about you, but I just can't get enough of these two. XD**

**Work is crazy right now, but I'll try to update faster! I promise!**

**Until then, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this chapter. **

**Until next time,**

**Lots of love!**


	9. Chapter 9

Arthur pulled the cloak over Sakura's exhausted body, hoping that its warmth would somehow help with the terrible shivering that racked her spine. Soaking a rag in a bucket of water, he placed it on her sweaty forehead. She was burning up, her feverous skin hot to the touch, and her breathing was coming out in quick, laborious huffs.

It was a painful sight.

He was taken aback by how distressing it was to see her like that. It was wrong, unnatural even. She was supposed to be vibrant, and cheeky, with a mouth that was too smart for her own good. She was supposed to be anything but...this. She was panting, her chest heaving, and he could hear a small whiz coming from her lungs. Curled under the cloak, she seemed small, fragile like a broken doll.

Arthur put the wet rag on her forehead again. He could feel the heat radiating off her skin, even with the piece of fabric between his fingers and her sweaty forehead. He stole a glance at the others over his shoulder. Bedivere and Percival were out in the woods, making sure that they hadn't left any tracks. He didn't blame them for keeping themselves occupied like that. They had no medical training; they had no idea what to do. Feeling useless was a terrible state to be in.

_Don't I know it…_

Even Bill, who never missed a chance to antagonize the woman, was silently keeping watch, his gaze looking anywhere but where she lay. For some reason, it made Arthur angry.

Looking to his right, he spied Rubio filling buckets with clean water.

"Oi," Arthur said to get his attention, "where's that bloody Mage?"

Rubio looked up from his task and shrugged. "Walked out a while ago, before the lass showed up."

Arthur cursed under his breath. "We need to find her. She must help Sakura. We're all bloody useless around here."

"We don't know where she is, Arthur."

The man shifted his blue eyes to Bill. "Then go find her, you bloody fool. Don't you just stand there." he snapped, though he knew that he was being unfair. He had never been good at controlling his temper under emotional pressure, and Gods knew, as he looked at the frail woman, he was not in a good place.

"We need to bring her here." he said firmly. "She's the only one who can help Sakura."

Rubio stood and put a hand on Arthur's shoulder. "I'll go find her, she can't have gone far. Keep your wits about ya, chap. The lass will pull through, she's a tough one."

Arthur nodded at the man but found little comfort in his words. He looked down at his hands. Were those the hands of a man who was supposed to lead a rebellion? A Kingdom even? How could he ever look these people in the eyes and confidently tell them that they were going to win?

_How am I supposed to protect a whole Realm, when I can't even protect one of my own?_

He glanced at Sakura. Her skin was too pale and growing worse by the second. Her hair stuck to her forehead, and she was breathing hard, tight lines forming around her mouth as she drew each tiny, painful breath.

_First Lucy…poor, sweet Lucy…and now her…_ He clenched his fists, digging his nails in the palms of his hands, hoping that the stinging pain would somehow tear his mind away from the horrible thoughts running through his head. But it did nothing, for she was there, right in front of him, on the brink of death, reminding him that it was his fault. Lucy had died because of him and now she was barely clinging to life because of him. Because she had tried to protect _him._

For a moment he looked away, disgusted with himself, but his eyes quickly found her again. It was irrational, he knew, but for some odd, unexplainable reason he felt that if he left her out of his sight even for a second, she'd slip away from them all.

He kneeled beside her again, and took her hand in his, massaging her fingers, trying to ease the tension. His lips lifted in a small, mirthless smile when she let out a sigh. He dared a glance at her shoulder. Her wound was still oozing that same foul black liquid, emanating the same horrid smell. It didn't seem to have gotten any worse, but it didn't seem to have gotten better either. He soaked the rag in the bucket again and as gently as he could, he went about cleaning the wound. She hissed in pain, unconsciously clenching her fists, and he frowned at the sight, but he continued wiping away as much of the foul discharge as he could.

By the time Rubio returned with the Mage, not long after, the rag in his hand was nearly black.

Seeing the other woman, Arthur scowled. "Where were you?" he gritted out, throwing the dirty rag to the side. "You shouldn't have left; you should have stayed here."

She remained expressionless. "There was something I had to do."

Arthur snorted humorlessly. "Merlin's business? Tell me, Mage, isn't your mission to help save this Kingdom?"

She nodded, her dead dark eyes boring into his.

"Well then," said Arthur, motioning to the unconscious woman, "you better start with her. And you better do a damn good job at it." His eyes narrowed, as if daring her to say the opposite.

In a display of remarkable aloofness, the dark-haired woman slid past him, paying him no mind at all, and kneeled beside Sakura. For a few minutes she simply examined the wound as he, Rubio and Bill waited with bated breath to hear what she had to say.

After what seemed like hours, she turned to them. "Wolfsbane."

Arthur sucked in a breath and beside him Rubio whispered, "Bloody bastards."

"What do we do now?" Surprisingly, the question came from Bill.

"We need to wake her. Her body is already unconsciously fighting my energy. My healing won't work if she's sleeping." She looked down at the woman again. "We need to hurry, or she won't live much longer."

"How?" Arthur said quickly. "How do we wake her? Speak, woman! We have already wasted enough time as it is."

The Mage did not react to his temper, only turned her back to them and put her hands above the open wound. They couldn't see what she was doing, and they only heard her whisper something in a language they couldn't understand.

The dark-haired woman looked up, frowning. "Her body is rejecting me. I won't be able to heal her with magic. We'll have to do it another way."

Suddenly, Sakura's eyes shot open and she gasped, her back arching, as she took deep breaths. Arthur rushed to her side and kneeled beside her.

"Sakura! Can you hear me, wench?"

She turned her foggy eyes to him. "Ar…Arthur…"

"Hang in there. We'll get you all healed up in no time. So, hang in there."

She grasped his hand, and he frowned at how weak her grip was. "You need to take it out. It's still in there. You need to take it out." she breathed out.

"What is it, wench? What's still in?"

"The shard. The piece of the sword in my shoulder." Her voice was weak, tired. "It's poisoned. I won't be able to heal myself if you don't take that out."

Arthur knew what that meant, and he physically winced at the thought. It meant excruciating pain for her, it meant blood and tears. Even his gentle cleaning of the wound had caused her pain; he couldn't imagine how painful this process would be.

_There is no other way, boy. If you don't do it, she'll die…_

He ran a hand through his hair and turned to the Mage. "Let's do this. Tell us what to do."

"The shard has a curse on it. King Vortigern's doing no doubt. I can't take it out using magic without killing her. Bring clear water, and a torch. Is any of you familiar with hawthorn?"

"I know it." Back Lack said from behind.

The Mage nodded. "I will need a dozen leaves." She then turned to Arthur and threw him a small dagger. "Use the fire of the torch to cauterize the blade. We will need it."

As they all went about their assigned tasks, Arthur tried to keep his mind off what was to come. He watched the blade of the dagger as it burned and blackened over the fire, dreading the moment they'd have to use it.

About half an hour later, Back Lack returned with branches of hawthorn, accompanied by Percival and Bedivere, who simply made their way over in silence. Back Lack had probably filled them in on what was about to take place.

"'Tis time." the Mage announced, and they all gathered around Sakura. Fortunately, she hadn't fallen back to sleep.

Arthur kneeled beside her. "You hanging in there, wench?"

"I've been better, and I've been worse, princeling. I'll live." she said, some of her usual cheekiness slipping back into her voice. Despite the situation, Arthur managed a small smile. She turned to Bedivere and Percival. "You'll have to hold me down. You two, along with Bill and Rubio. Don't let go. No matter how much I thrash, or how much I scream, you do not let go of my arms and legs."

"Don't worry, lass. We can deal with-"

"You don't understand, Rubio. The pain along with the poison will blind me, I won't have control of my limbs. If you're not careful, I can hurt you. Badly." The gravity of her expression made the rest of them frown, and Rubio nodded grimly.

They gathered around her, each of them taking their positions. Back Lack and Wet Stick stood to the side with buckets of fresh water ready to be used.

Percival, Bedivere, Bill, and Rubio prepared themselves, each grabbing hold of one of the woman's limbs. The Mage stood over her, close to the wound with Arthur beside her. The dark-haired woman turned to him.

"Bring her something to bite on. She'll need it."

A few seconds later, he returned with a short stick. "Here, wench." he said, and she took it with a small, grateful smile.

The rest of them exchanged looks, and for a moment the cave fell silent. The people had wisely retreated to their makeshift houses, knowing that whatever it was they were about to do would not be pretty.

"Get this thing out of me, or I'll take that damn knife and dig it out myself."

Despite the situation, Arthur chuckled at her bluntness. "Aye, let's get this over with." He sent her a smirk, hoping to make her feel a bit better. "Say, you survive this, wench, and I'll let you rub my face in the mud again."

The woman snorted, wincing in pain for just a moment. "Hardly a bargain, princeling. I can rub your face in the mud any day."

Before he could reply, the Mage snatched the dagger from his hand and started cutting the hawthorn leaves, grinding them with the blunt side of the blade, letting the plant's juices coat it. She was whispering under her breath in a language that he couldn't understand, her eyes turning a pitch black that made him shiver.

"Bite on the wood." she ordered, and Sakura quickly followed her instructions, taking a deep breath as she did so.

The Mage soaked three rags in water and placed them on Sakura's shoulder in such a way that only the entry point of the shard was visible. She took the dagger and burned it above the fire of the torch for a few more seconds. She briefly glanced at the four men holding Sakura down, silently warning them to prepare.

The injured woman's muscles tensed as the Mage kneeled beside her, but she did not avert her gaze. Without warning, the Mage started whispering her strange language again, and dug the tip of the blade in the wound. The scorching temperature along with the poison and the torn flesh made Sakura arch her back as excruciating pain flooded every single corner of her being.

She bit hard on the stick, the others barely managing to keep her from kicking them. Even with the piece of wood in her mouth, the wail that rose to her throat would not be leaving Arthur's mind anytime soon.

Sakura was trying her hardest not to move the upper part of her body, he could tell, but the pain was causing her violent trembling. It made it all the more difficult for the Mage to take the shard out, and Bill was having trouble keeping her leg from cracking his skull. Arthur pressed down on her shoulder, trying to keep her still enough for the dark-haired woman to finally dig the piece of metal out of her flesh. He was causing her more pain, he knew, but between providing some temporary, half-hearted comfort and saving her life…It was an easy choice.

"Take the damn thing out, woman!" he barked, but the Mage paid him no mind and thank the Gods for that. The situation was upsetting enough without her unsettling, pitch-black eyes on him.

Arthur could see the fatigue on the faces of the four men holding Sakura down, though Bedivere and Percival were better at hiding it. He marveled at how, even in her condition, she was giving five fully-grown men twice her size a hard time.

A bloodcurdling scream ripped from her throat, and Arthur glanced away from her face just in time to see the Mage finally pull the shard from her flesh. The moment it was out, Sakura stopped thrashing, and her body fell heavily on the makeshift cot they had put her on. She was panting hard, and her skin was covered in sweat, but she smiled at them gratefully.

Her fingers found his and she gave them a weak tug. "Th-Thank you." she whispered and passed her eyes over their faces. "All of you. I am in your debt."

"Hell, yeah you are in our debt, woman. You nearly broke my damn neck." said Bill, but his usual bite was absent from his words.

Sakura chuckled breathlessly. "If you have any hawthorn, now would be the time to put on my wound."

Arthur's smile widened. It was good to hear her slowly returning back to her old self. "Give it a rest, wench. We got this."

Wordlessly, the Mage put a thin paste of crushed hawthorn leaves on the wound before bandaging it with clean pieces of fabric. "Leave it there overnight." She left without another word after that, walking out of the cave hastily. The rest of them exchanged looks, but as Bedivere said nothing, the others thought it best not to comment either. Bedivere knew the Mage longer than all of them put together. If he chose not to say anything, they wouldn't either.

As Rubio, Percival, Bill and Bedivere went about lighting the hearths and preparing the cave for the night, Arthur stayed beside Sakura.

"Here, wench. You better drink a bit." he said, bringing his flask of water to her cracked lips. She managed to take a few sips before she fell back down on the cot.

"I should have known…" she said suddenly. "I should have known they'd have some kind of trick up their sleeve."

"Stop it, wench. You couldn't have known. None of us could."

"I should have. I should have been prepared."

"There is no way-"

"What if this had happened to one of you? To Rubio, or Percival…or you?" she asked, her green eyes boring into his.

Arthur tried to smile down at her. "You would have done your magic tricks and you would have saved our hides, wench. Again."

"But what if I killed you? In my ignorance…what if I hurt you?" She visibly shuddered at the thought.

"Hey, stop this," he said, flicking her forehead. "You're the one laying here with a hole in your shoulder, not us. Focus on getting better."

She sighed deeply. "I will be. Give it a few hours and I'll be back on my feet."

Arthur snorted. "A few hours? Come on, wench. We had to dig a piece of a poisoned blade out of your own flesh. Me thinks you'll need a bit more than that to regain your strength."

She simply grinned up at him, not saying anything. It unsettled him. As if she knew something he didn't.

_She probably knows a lot of things I don't…_

"Alright, lass." He stood, and once more pulled the cloak over her body. "You better get some rest. Gods know you need it. We will be keeping watch in turns, so if you need anything during the night, just yell."

She nodded, her eyelids slowly drifting shut.

Satisfied that she was already showing signs of improvement, Arthur turned to leave.

"Princeling?"

"Yes, wench?"

"I'm still rubbing your face in the mud when I get the chance."

XxxOxOxOxxX

Arthur stirred a little before dawn.

For a few minutes, he simply lay there, looking up at the ceiling of the cave and enjoying the peace and quiet. Gods knew it'd be a while before he got another chance like this. The only sound that reached his ears was the faint chirping of the birds outside and judging by his silent surroundings, the others hadn't woken yet.

Deciding that there was no point in falling back to sleep, he stood, making sure not to make any noise. The first rays of the sun drew his eyes to the entrance of the cave. There, he noticed Rubio leaning against the wall, sleeping. Arthur rolled his eyes.

_So much for keeping watch…_

By the time he washed his face and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, the sun had risen enough to bathe the inside of the cave in its red-ish light.

_Wait a minute…Something's not right…_

Sakura was not in her makeshift bed. She was nowhere to be seen.

Looking around, Arthur's eyes widened, and he swiftly slipped past Rubio, who didn't even stir. The light of the sun assaulted his eyes and he had to shield them for a moment. He walked towards the woods, pushing aside bushes and broken branches. He found himself on the same path they had taken yesterday, before the Blacklegs' ambush, and he started following it.

"Wench!" he called, hoping that the woman hadn't wandered off too far away in her condition. _You foolish, stubborn mule of a woman…_

"Wench!" he called again, straining his ears for any strange sounds.

"Over here!"

He sighed, rolling his eyes at her her cheerful, sing-song tone. Following the sound of her voice, he found himself in the same small clearing as before. She was sitting under the same tree, hair in her usual braid, with her baggy shirt pulled down her shoulder. She had taken the bandages off, exposing her skin.

"What the hell are you doing?" he asked as he approached her, kneeling down beside her to examine her wound. "You're hurt, you shouldn't be wandering off on your own."

"What does it look like I'm doing, princeling? I'm healing myself." As if on cue, green light shone bright around her fingers, and she immediately pressed them on the injury.

Arthur watched mesmerized as the muscle and flesh mended back together, the hole slowly closing, leaving behind only smooth, flawless skin. He wasn't as surprised to see her little display considering she had used this very same power to heal him and Percival not long ago, but it was still a captivating sight.

"Thank you." she said, breaking him out of his thoughts.

"Huh?"

"Thank you. For saving me. Had it not been for all of you, I wouldn't have survived. When that piece of the sword broke off and embedded itself in my shoulder, it never crossed my mind that it might have been poisoned."

"The Mage said it was cursed." he added, remembering the woman's words from the previous night.

Sakura nodded. "That explains why my energy was blocked. Usually, common poisons are not really a problem. My body takes action long before I consciously do and flashes them out of my system within a few hours, depending on how potent the concoction is."

"But you couldn't last night?"

She shook her head. "No. Whatever Vortigern did cut me off from my energy completely. I couldn't tap into it. That's why it took such a toll on me. The moment it was out, I was once again able to use my own power and start the healing process." She looked thoughtful, as if she was talking to herself as much as she was talking to him, and Arthur had to guess that she was filing away the information so she could think on it later.

"He will know about this, wench. He will know when the Blacklegs don't return, and he will know that you didn't die."

She nodded calmly, as if that was something she had already thought about. She probably had.

"Still not regretting ever getting involved in this mess?"

She giggled and Arthur's grin widened involuntarily at the sight of her lifted spirits. "Of course not, princeling. Why, I haven't had this much fun in a long while."

"You have a strange idea of what fun means, woman."

She flashed him a wide smile, her brilliant green eyes shining brightly under the rays of the sun. "And it's about to get a whole lot better for you, princeling."

"What is that supposed to mean?" he asked suspiciously, raising an eyebrow at her.

She pinched his cheek teasingly. "Get ready, for I am going to teach you how to use the Sword."

**TBC**

**Err…excuse me, what did just happen? Did I just post a new chapter a mere week after the most recent update? I just surprised myself. Please wait a minute while I get over the shock…XD **

**Guys and gals, I sure hope you enjoyed the chapter! Wasn't Arthur super worried for Saki? **** I so enjoyed writing that! **

**More exciting stuff to come! **

**Until next time, **

**Lots of love! **


	10. Chapter 10

Sakura could not hide her amusement at the expression on Arthur's face. "Gee, princeling. You could look a bit more excited about this." she teased, her smile widening when she saw him roll his eyes.

The man eyed her warily. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"Oh, come on, Arthur! When did I ever not know what I was doing?"

He snorted, crossing his arms across his chest. "Before or after we had to bring you back from the dead?"

She giggled, tilting her head to one side. "Don't be such a spoil sport, princeling."

"I'm sarcastic and complicated. It's one of my charms."

"I don't think you know what that words means. Or how to count."

"I hate you."

"Why? I'm lovely!" she replied cheerfully and got to her feet. "Catch!"

His hand instinctively shot out to grab the object, though he hadn't noticed her holding anything when he sat down with her half an hour ago. He looked at the thing in his grasp.

"A wooden sword?" He looked at her incredulously, noticing a matching object in her own hands. "Is this some kind of jest?"

The woman rolled her eyes. "Of course not, princeling. We can't jump straight to wielding Excalibur. First, you need to learn how to use a sword properly."

He looked at her as if she had suddenly grown a second head. "Learn how to use a sword properly? Are you blind, wench? I know how to use a damn sword."

She looked him up and down, contemplating. "Oh, you know how to use one, alright. That doesn't mean you're good at it." She smirked at him, knowing that she was most likely hitting a nerve. Arthur was arrogant and confident, but he was also proud. And if the way he was glaring holes into her was any indication, he didn't react well to people questioning his competence.

"Watch it, wench." he warned, narrowing his eyes at her. "You are one word away from starting a war."

"Hardly a war, princeling." she drawled, seemingly bored and unaffected by his increasing annoyance. "Why, I have fought in a couple of wars. You don't even count as a warm-up." Her smirk widened at the sight of the storm raging in his eyes.

_Bingo…_

Arthur lunged at her, furiously swinging the wooden sword. She side-stepped to get out of the way, then ducked to avoid a hit to the head. She heard his frustrated growl and had to hide her own grin.

_Come on, princeling…Let it all out. _

He kept swinging at her, aiming for different parts of her body, hoping to find a weak spot. And she had to admit that for a man with no shinobi training, Arthur was quick on his feet. Granted, he wouldn't have lasted half a minute against Sasuke or Kakashi-sensei, but she could see that the sword master that had instructed him had done a good job.

For a few minutes, she simply allowed him to try and hit her. She focused on avoiding his attacks, maintaining her defensive stance and not raising her own sword even once. She could see his frustration, and she understood his position all too well. She used to be like that too when she first began her training; expecting too much from a young girl that was not ready to perform at that level and then viciously punishing herself with harsh words behind closed doors.

She almost felt guilty for putting him through this. After all, how could any man or woman from this side of the world ever hope to stand against a trained shinobi?

_He has to…He needs to let it all out. And when the tension is gone and he is too exhausted to carry the burdens of guilt and anger anymore, then he will start building again. And I'll be right there to help him. _

His frustration was taking over, she could tell, and his moves were becoming increasingly sloppy, desperate. Had she been the enemy, it would have been too easy to slip her sword between his ribs and right through his lung.

He swung at her head again and tried to kick her legs from under her. She backflipped, landing expertly on her feet. His hits were powerful, she'd give him that, and his stamina was commendable, but he still had a long way to go before he'd be able to wield Excalibur. Even though she'd never touched the legendary blade, she could feel its power. It was pure magic.

_I can't go easy on him. Vortigern will hit him with a lot more than just a wooden sword. He needs to be ready. _

Reasoning that she'd tormented him enough for the day, she slid behind him as he tried to catch her in the ribs, and grabbed his arms in an iron hold, locking them behind his back. Within seconds, the wooden sword fell from his fingers, and she kicked his feet from under him, bringing him to his knees.

"Ready to yield, yet?" she whispered in his ear.

"Damn it, wench."

She released him and he stood, dusting himself. She observed his movements, noticing the tightness in his muscles and how he didn't allow his gaze to fall on her.

She rolled her eyes. _Men and their egos…_She flashed him a bright smile. "Alright, I think it went well."

"You think?" he snorted. "I didn't even manage to make you lift that damn wooden stick of yours."

"Don't feel bad about it, princeling. You couldn't even if you wanted to."

He crossed his arms across his chest. "And you dare call me arrogant."

"I prefer the term 'self-aware'. Has a much nicer ring to it, don't you think?"

The man scowled at her. "I think that I'm going to aggressively ignore you until you go away."

Sakura laughed and walked up to him. "Oh, come on, princeling." she said, pinching his cheek despite his efforts to pull away from her. "Live a little! I, for one, meant what I said. This did go well."

He looked at her doubtfully.

"Be honest, Arthur. You can't tell me you don't feel lighter."

That seemed to stop him in his tracks, and his face grew thoughtful. He kept his blue gaze on her, but behind those piercing eyes, she could tell that his mind was elsewhere.

"Is this what you were trying to do?" he said after a bit. "Get me to release pent up emotion?"

"Me thinks it worked." She flashed him a wide smile when she noticed the tension start to disappear from his face.

"You sneaky, deceptive wench."

Sakura laughed, not in the least affected by his words. She knew it was all in good humor. Granted, Arthur's ego was still bruised, but now that he saw things from her own perspective, she was sure that he'd get over it rather quickly.

Picking up the two wooden swords, she motioned to the forest path. "Our job here is done for today. Shall we?" Without waiting for his reply, she started walking towards the trees.

He quickly caught up and fell in step with her. "Was it really necessary to make defeating me look so bloody easy?"

"Necessary, no. Hilarious, yes."

Arthur glared at her. "Your mouth's too smart for your own good, lass."

"So I've been told." she shot back cheerfully, growing increasingly certain that riling Arthur up was going to be her new favorite pastime.

For a few minutes they walked in silence, the calmness of the forest interrupted only by the chirping of the birds and the sound of their steps. His arms brushed hers as they walked, and Sakura could feel the exhaustion rolling off Arthur in waves. Their little sparring match along with the physically and mentally draining events of the previous night had taken their toll him. She made a mental note to make him one of her energizing herbal brews when they got back to the caves.

"Say, princeling," she started, already half-smirking, "what does it feel like to lose to a woman?"

"Watch it, wench…" he warned, sending her a sidelong glare.

Ignoring his warning, she continued in a thoughtful tone, "I suspect it is as much of a blow as losing to a man is. Just a bit more shameful." She grinned up at him, noticing the muscle above his brow twitch.

"One of these days, wench. One of these days…"

Sakura just laughed.

XxxOxOxOxxX

Vortigern sipped his wine as he watched two soldiers drag the body of the Blackleg that had been unlucky enough to be tasked with bringing him ill tidings out of the throne room.

"Dispose of the body properly. I do not need rats and other vermin infesting my halls."

"Sire, I-"

"Silence." he ordered curtly. The fear that overtook the people in the room was palpable; it almost made him smile. "I just need a bit of silence."

For a moment, nothing could be heard in the room, as if Death itself had settled upon the walls of the Dark Tower. Even the wind seemed afraid of his wrath, for despite the open windows, the flames of the candles remained steady, unmoving.

He stood from his seat, and calmly walked over to the window, cup of wine still in hand. He took a sip as he gazed at the cliffside and the visible part of the gushing river below.

"Mercia, please approach."

The man hurried to his side, bowing deeply. "Sire."

"Do you see what I see, Mercia?"

"I see a Kingdom flourishing under your rule, Sire."

"Splendor. Can you see that too?"

"Yes, Sire, I-"

"No, you can't." Vortigern cut him sharply. "None of you can. How could you ever hope to see the beauty of my creation?"

Wisely, the other man bowed deeply. "We could never hope to perceive things the way you do, Sire, for we are not worthy."

Vortigern smiled sardonically. _See brother? This is what fear does to those below us. It makes them bow low._ "Do you believe in my cause, Mercia? Do you stand by my side, as a faithful subject?"

"To my dying breath, Sire."

Vortigern nodded, never taking his eyes away from the window. "Good, good. And will you follow my orders and carry out my will, without objection?"

"Your will is my command, Sire."

"Splendid. That's exactly what I wanted to hear." He took another sip, tasting the wine on his lips. "Now tell me, Mercia. Which was the last order I gave you?"

The man hesitated for merely a moment, but in the deathly silence of the room, it could have been an hour. "To bring you the heads of the heinous criminals that dared steal the Sword and disrupt your rule, Sire."

The loud clang of the wine cup echoed around them as Vortigern flung it violently across the room, creating a cacophony of metal against marble as it bounced off the wall and across the floor.

"They why are they not here?!" he roared, and the flames of the candles suddenly went out, making the vast hall appear even darker than before. "Why," Vortigern continued, "Why have they not been brought before me to be punished for their crimes against the Crown?"

"S-Sire! We hunted them down in the woods, but my men were unable to make an arrest. Only one of our soldiers returned, Sire. He reported seeing the likeness of Uther's son turn to dust before their very eyes and the Earth rise up to swallow them whole." Mercia stammered, trying hard to gather his wits, as Vortigern's suffocating darkness pressed down on him.

_You worthless tool…_

"Impossible! The Mage that accompanies them does not have that kind of power."

For just a moment, Mercia faltered, as if unwilling to continue. "It was not the Mage, Sire. Our soldier reported that it was all the other woman's doing."

Vortigern's eyes flashed, and the glass of the window in front of him cracked as his energy swirled around him like a bad omen. He shook his head. "The other woman…A foreigner strong enough to be a threat to me has now allied herself with my brother's accursed spawn. A Mage…I should have wiped out their kin a long time ago." he spat, the very mention of that abominable breed making him want to vomit.

Without tearing his gaze away from the cracked windows, he motioned to a maid standing in the far corner of the room to approach. She scampered to gather her skirts, and approached them with her tray in hand. As he picked a new cup of wine from the tray, Vortigern took a sick kind of pleasure in they way the maid's hands were trembling, making the cups jangle.

_Let it be fear…_

He took a sip, then turned his hard, frozen gaze to Mercia. "Find them and bring them to me. I want my nephew's and that woman's head on a spike before another moon's cycle."

Mercia straightened his back, trying in vain to appear unaffected by his foul mood. _Worthless simpleton…_

"I will lead the hunt and rain steel and fire upon them, Sire. I will have every man in the Realm looking for them. They won't escape us again."

"See that they don't, or I'll be swapping their heads for yours."

"Yes, Sire." Mercia bowed deeply, and hurried out of the throne room, leaving Vortigern standing alone.

He took another sip from the cup, swirling the liquid in his mouth, savoring its taste as it slid down his throat.

_I do wonder, little mortal…Will you blood taste this sweet? _

**TBC**

**Hiya! Another day, another chapter! **

**I know, I know! Nothing too grand in this one and it is a bit shorter than others, but I do think these chapters are needed if we want to build a nice, well-rounded story! **

**I honestly enjoy writing ArthurXSakura scenes the most. Really, these two characters offer such wonderful opportunities for smart, cheeky dialogue! **

**Starting from the next chapter on, I will really start cranking up the romantic tension between our favorite couple so stay tuned!**

**I hope you enjoyed this! **

**Until next time, **

**Lots of love! **


	11. Chapter 11

"You're fighting with patterns, princeling." Sakura said and sidestepped to dodge Arthur's swing. Angling her body, she grabbed his training sword as he went to pull away, and easily locked both his arms behind his back. "After a while, it's easy to predict your next move." She handed him his sword. "You need to be able to think quickly and change your strategy even in the middle of combat. Stay focused! A predictable battle plan is like plunging your own blade through your gut."

Arthur nodded curtly, and Sakura had to smile at his focus as he charged at her again.

Training Arthur was an interesting experience, to say the least, and she felt oddly proud of his progress considering the time constrictions. Bedivere was already displeased enough with the time their training sessions consumed, and she knew that they were wearing the older man's patience thin. At times, she wondered if Kakashi-sensei felt the same all those years ago when he first took them on as pupils.

_I wish you were here Kakashi-sensei…_She smiled at the thought of her old teacher, the memories causing a dull ache to spread through her. She'd give anything to hear his voice again, even if it was to listen to one of his usual lectures, reprimanding her for going too far, for not giving a second thought to her own well-being for the sake of theirs.

He'd been among the last to fall, one of the very few that still had some fight in them when the end drew close. And he had died just as fearlessly as he had lived, with the wind at his back and the Will of Fire burning brightly in his chest, more brightly than it had ever burnt. He died protecting her, buying her as much time as he could so she could heal Naruto, their last remaining hope.

_And then Naruto fell too, and all our hope vanished. And who did he sacrifice himself for? You, Sakura? _

She shook her head, unwilling to allow her thoughts to wander down that same dangerous path ever again. She'd never view Naruto's ultimate sacrifice as anything but what it was: a testament of his love for her and the bond they shared. No one would ever come close to understanding what Naruto meant to her. She never found it in herself to love him the way he wanted her to, and for a while, she hated herself for being unable to provide him with what he deserved.

But then she understood. She understood that their love was not one that could be explained as something as self-destructing as romantic love or be disturbed by something as lowly as death. They were each other's lifelines, tied together for eternity. No one would ever take Naruto's place in her heart, but that did not mean that she couldn't live, that she couldn't be happy. She'd see Naruto again, and it was a comforting thought to know that he and Kakashi-sensei, maybe even Sasuke, were waiting for her to fulfil her own destiny before she joined them. She was going to be happy, one way or another. She owed them that much.

_He saved me so that Konoha may live on through me. I am the keeper of the Will of Fire now…_

"Stop it."

Arthur's voice tore her away from her inner mussing and she looked at him confused. "Sorry?"

"You're doing it again. Your head's up in the clouds."

"Oh…" she said lamely, scratching the back of her head with an awkward smile. "Sorry. I kinda spaced out there."

"I noticed." Arthur crossed his arms across his chest. "If that's your way of teaching me how to use that bloody Sword, I'm not impressed, wench."

Sakura rolled her eyes and smirked. "That's rich coming from someone who didn't manage to even come close to landing a hit."

Arthur glared at her. "That's rich coming from someone who told me to stay focused five minutes ago. Perhaps you should take your own advice, lass."

Sakura regarded him thoughtfully, taking note of his relaxed stance. "Take my own advice, huh?" _It's never a good idea to let your guard down around me, princeling. Not a good idea at all…_

He snorted. "Obviously. If I am to learn how to use this damn magic stick then-oomph!"

He grunted as Sakura tackled him, using her bodyweight to throw him off balance. They fell to the ground in a tangled mess of limbs, tumbling across the grass awkwardly. Wrestling her way on top, Sakura smirked triumphantly as she straddled his hips, looking down at Arthur's shocked face.

She pinned his arms by his ears, her smirk widening. "Do you surrender?"

Arthur glared at her heatedly. "You played dirty."

Sakura laughed, releasing his hands, and crossed her arms across her chest. "Of course I did, princeling. My teacher used to tell me to always look underneath the underneath. Expect everything. Honor has no place in a battle to the death."

"I was not aware we were fighting to the death."

She rolled her eyes. "_I_ don't want to kill you, princeling, but King Vortigern and his horde of minions do. And you can be sure that they will employ everything in their arsenal to take you down. To them, playing dirty comes as natural as breathing. That's why you," she poked his chest with her finger, "need to learn how to always have the upper hand in battle and take your enemy by surprise."

Arthur's face grew thoughtful as he regarded her and for just a moment, the hair at the back of her neck stood on edge. His eyes, those icy blue eyes, made her feel self-conscious. As if her carefully constructed mental defenses were useless against them. It was a foolish notion, she decided. Even Ino had never managed to tear through her mind. How could Arthur ever hope to succeed? She wasn't even sure he realized what he was doing. And yet, the disconcerting feeling was still there, and Sakura wanted it to disappear.

"Take the enemy by surprise, huh?" he said, the words rolling off his tongue almost lazily.

Caught up in her own thoughts, it took her a moment to realize that his hands were on her hips, fingers grasping her flesh firmly, as if he didn't want her to escape. She noticed the mischief in his eyes just a second too late and a surprised gasp left her lips as he used his superior body weight to flip them over.

He looked down at her with a triumphant smirk splitting his face, and Sakura was not ashamed to admit that she was utterly flabbergasted. His chest pressed against hers and she could feel the rumble of his chuckles. It was an almost feral sound that reverberated through her, sending chills down her spine and making the hairs at the back of her neck stand in a type of awareness she hadn't felt in a long while.

Her breathing hitched as he lowered himself so that he was resting on his forearms. He was too close, his wide smirk and sharp jawline and blue, _blue_ eyes filling her line of sight completely.

_I need to breathe…_

But it was hard with Arthur so close and his masculine scent enveloping her, making her feel small, small, _small._ She pressed her palms on his chest, but she found herself strangely devoid of either the strength or the will to push his away. It was not hard to tell which of the two was true.

His muscles rippled against her fingers with each movement and Sakura bit her lip as she watched him hover above her. For just a few seconds, she noticed his eyes focus on her teeth as she nervously nibbled on her lower lip and she felt the breath leave her lungs at the way his gaze unconsciously darkened.

"Arthur…" she whispered, painfully aware of how breathlessly his name fell from her lips. In the corner of her eye, she noticed him clench his fists on either side of her head and she could see the muscles of his arms tighten, bare as his tunic left them.

She dragged her hand from his chest to his cheek. He didn't even flinch when she lightly touched a small but deep cut she had inflicted on him earlier during their spar. Her chakra shone on the tips of her fingers as she slowly closed the injury, making sure that it wouldn't leave a scar. This time, Arthur didn't move a muscle as she healed him, and he kept his gaze on her. The green of her healing light reflected in his eyes, giving them an unearthly glow. As if something ancient and forgotten was hiding just beneath the surface. She wondered what kind of magic it was that flowed in his veins to give him those eyes and make Excalibur bow to his will.

_Something that just might be too much for you, Sakura…_

His face was dirty, blond hair tousled and sticking out at odd angles, and his brow was furrowed, as if he was battling with his own thoughts, but for the life of her, Sakura had never felt more self-conscious in the presence of a man before.

_But this is Arthur…This is Arthur…_

He reached for a strand of her hair, and she visibly gulped. If he saw it, he didn't make any move to acknowledge it. Instead, he played with her hair, twirling the long pink lock around his fingers. He took care to keep his touch light, and gentle in a way she never would have associated with him. The Arthur she knew was brash and arrogant. He was cocky and rough around the edges. But this…this was something else.

"Sakura…" Her name slipped past his lips slowly, deliberately, making her spine tingle. She wondered if he realized how much his whole presence was affecting her. She wasn't sure she wanted to really ask herself why that was. Not just yet. Not when he could die, and she could die, and they could all die. She knew all to well what it meant to ask questions you couldn't find the _bloody answers to._ Unconsciously, she licked her lips to wet them as she usually did when she was nervous but realized her mistake a moment later when she saw his eyes follow the tip of her tongue.

Something like a growl erupted at the back of his throat, almost animalistic in nature and probably beyond his control. Her fingers tightened on the fabric of his tunic, her knuckles brushing over the sweaty, heated skin of his chest. She could swear she felt him shiver. It was a small victory, knowing that she had an effect on him. It was almost sad compared to what his proximity was suddenly doing to her, but it was still a victory.

Her thoughts were a jumbled mess as she stared up at stormy blue eyes that sent shivers of anticipation down her spine, though she wasn't exactly sure what it was she was waiting for.

_No…No, no, no. You can't…Not now…_

Her eyes widened for just a second when she felt Arthur's fingers brush her chin. The touch was airy, a simple graze of his fingertips, but she felt it with a profound intensity. She wanted to speak, to tell him to get off her and stop whatever it was he was doing. Tell him that she didn't need or want him messing with her thoughts. She did not want to get any more attached than she already was. To him, to all of them. Attachment brought pain and there was no more room in her body for pain.

But she didn't, because words failed her, and she did not trust her voice not to waver.

His fingers grazed her skin again, his thumb rubbing gentle circles just under her eye as he cupped her cheek.

_I need to breathe…I need to breathe…_She looked up at him, eyes pleading. _Please…Don't do this, Arthur. Don't do this to me…_

"Oh, for the love of God, will you stop? I think I'm going to puke now."

A mixture of profound relief and equally as profound disappointment flooded Sakura the moment Bill's voice reached her ears. Conflicted as she was, she dared glance up at the man above her. His lips were pressed in a thin line and though he moved to put distance between them, his expression never changed. He sent her a look, eyes as stormy and wild as before. A look full of promise, though of what she didn't know.

"Chop chop, love birds! We have a problem that cannot wait."

Bill's annoyed voice got them both moving, and Sakura rose slowly, not quite trusting her legs not to buckle under the weight of the emotions this little incident had caused her. Her attempt at masking her awkwardness by dusting her clothes seemed pathetic even in her own eyes. She did not glance at Arthur as she walked to follow Bill's retreating form, but she was aware of his presence. It was hard not to be, with his powerful aura still enveloping her.

She did not speak a word to him, and he didn't either.

XxxOxOxOxxX

Sakura stared thoughtfully at Bedivere. "So, you're saying that this Blackleg has taken over the village and is acting as some kind of reigning Lord?"

The man nodded. "The King sent him here to make sure no uprisings took place. His job was to make sure no one challenged the will of the Crown. However, our informants have been reporting increasing cruelty against the villagers, unfair taxation, women going missing in regular intervals, and suspicious deaths of prominent community members."

"Well, I guess we don't need to be scholars to realize who's responsible." The woman gritted her teeth. "But how is that our problem?"

"We need to reach Uther's old bannermen in the North, and that village is not only our stop for supplies but also our shortcut. The only other way is through the Evermer Mountain pass, but the path hasn't been used in years. Last I heard, a rockslide blocked it completely."

"But even if it weren't blocked, the pass is treacherous ground. Fraught with razor sharp peaks, hidden under layers of snow." Bill added. "Our chances of getting out of there in one piece would be slim to none."

Sakura nodded absently, mind running a mile a minute. "And you're absolutely certain there is no other way?"

"Didn't we just say that?"

She rolled her eyes but chose not to respond to Bill's jab. Instead, she shifted her eyes to Bedivere again. "This Blackleg running the place. Do we know if he has men with him?"

The older knight nodded. "He does. They are in unruly condition, feasting and drinking to their heart's content. The villagers are too scared of them and no one holds them accountable for their actions. They are slowly sucking the life out of that village and its people."

"Why is the King even allowing this? An overly-ambitious soldier is a recipe for disaster."

"As long as the rebels are kept at bay, Vortigern does not concern himself with his followers' doings. Or with the fate of mere villagers."

For a while, Sakura remained silent. "Look underneath the underneath."

"I beg your pardon?"

The woman grinned. "Expect the unexpected, adapt and overcome it. 'Tis what my teacher used to say."

"Will you just get on with it, woman?" Bill snapped, clearly agitated.

"Oh, come on, Billie. Don't you trust me?"

"Not in the slightest."

"Smart man." she said just to spite him and smirked at the way he glared at her. "Seeing as our options are pretty damn limited to begin with, our only viable plan right now is to do the one thing King Vortigern and his lackeys would least expect."

"And what would that be?"

She turned to Arthur, who was watching her with a raised eyebrow.

She chuckled, eyes flashing in anticipation. "Why, we are going to walk right into town, of course."

Bill breathed out slowly. "We are doomed."

**TBC**

**Hey you wonderful, wonderful people! **

**Did things heat up a bit in this chapter or what?**

**I cannot tell how much I enjoyed writing this. I was just itching to start building up the romance between Sakura and Arthur, but I did not want to start things up too early in the story and make things unbelievable. Hope I achieved that! **

**Anyway, I'm not gonna ramble this time! **

**I sincerely hope you enjoyed this chapter, and as always, I'd love it if you could leave me a review to share your thoughts and feedback. **

**Until next time!**

**Lots of love! **


	12. Chapter 12

Sakura rarely dreamed, and even when she did, her dreams always had to do with the war. They were memories of harsh battles, of herself knee-deep in blood, of terrible black fires engulfing her village, leaving nothing in their monstrous wake. But mostly, her dreams were images of death. Kakashi's death, Sasuke's death, Naruto's death…

Usually, she didn't dream at all. And each night that passed without having to relive the most painful moments of her life, she thanked whoever was out there for taking pity on her.

So, when she succumbed to sleep that night, laying as far away from Arthur as possible, she wished with all her might for a few hours of peace and sweet oblivion.

And then suddenly she was floating in water.

She instinctively slapped her hand over her mouth, hoping to preserve whatever oxygen she had left. She gasped loudly when she realized that she could breathe without a problem.

_Well, it's not like you haven't been through weirder experiences, girl…_

She took a look around, trying to decipher where she was, though her efforts were in vain. With her visibility reduced to just a few meters ahead on every side and little light reaching her from the surface, it was nearly impossible to tell what could be hiding in the shadows. The water was dark, but strangely, it did not make her eyes sting. She couldn't make out the bottom of the lake, and there was no way to tell how deep it was. All she could see was the endless expanse of water.

_This is a dream; this is a dream…_

She tried to keep her heart rate down, but despite her effort, she couldn't help the feeling of nervousness that settled upon her. For a dream, it felt terribly real.

Movement in the corner of her eye snapped her out of her thoughts, and she immediately looked up ahead of her. There was a woman there, with pale skin and long hair that Sakura would guess was blond, though it was hard to tell in the darkness. Her ivory gown spread around her form in the water, ethereal and at the same time unnerving as if the cloth itself had a mind of its own.

Sakura's hand flew to her side, expecting to feel the familiar worn leather of her weapons' pouch, only to find it was not there. She let out a gasp, looking down at her hip to make sure that she was not mistaken. She never took her pouch off.

_Impossible!_

She looked up at the woman again. She was approaching, slowly but surely reducing the distance between them. Sakura narrowed her eyes, intending to take a few steps back. She gasped in alarm again when she realized she couldn't move.

_What's going on, damn it?!_

She struggled, but it was like someone had robbed her of her ability to control her muscles. She could not feel the water on her skin, almost as if she were trapped in an air bubble that was simultaneously immobilizing her completely. It was an unnatural sensation, that left her feeling helpless and at the mercy of the ethereal woman.

Sakura wanted to warn the woman to stay back, though, in her current state, any threat would probably sound utterly ridiculous. She found that no words would come out of her mouth, no matter how hard she tried or how much she screamed in her own head.

_Stay back! Stay the hell back!_

The woman was in front of her now. Her skin looked even paler in close proximity, and a silver diadem with an iridescent stone in the middle decorated her forehead. There was an unnatural glow around her, and it seemed to follow the ripples of her dress.

Sakura narrowed her eyes and bared her teeth at the woman the way a cornered animal would, desperately trying to convey that she wouldn't go down without a fight.

The ethereal presence stared at her, ice-blue eyes boring into her, making her feel exposed and vulnerable. Sakura wasn't sure whether the woman could hear her thoughts or not, but she wouldn't be surprised if she did. Dream or not, this place was the pale figure's realm and they were playing by her rules, whatever those were.

The fabric of her gown billowed lazily around her as the woman extended her hand towards her. Sakura growled lowly in her throat, survival instincts taking over. In her state of complete immobility, she was little more than a caged animal, and if it meant keeping herself alive, she'd give herself over to those basic instincts in a heartbeat.

_You dare lay a hand on me and I'll bite those fingers off! _

With the magnitude of a thunderstorm, a chuckle echoed around her, one with the water trapping her.

_It has been centuries since I last encountered a childling such as thee…_

The voice was smooth and deep, but unmistakably feminine. It radiated power and wisdom, a lot like Kaguya's had, though without the crippling terror that had followed each of the Otsutsuki matriarch's words.

Sakura's eyes widened, frantically shifting left and right in order to locate the source. A moment later, she realized that the source was none other than the regal-looking woman now standing uncomfortably close to her. If Sakura had any doubts about whether the woman could listen to her thoughts or not before, they were long gone now. She could hear her speaking in her mind as clear as if she were moving her lips to form sentences.

_But she didn't move her lips once…_

Another chuckle echoed around her.

_Hush now, childling, and listen to these words of mine. _

There was something about the woman's voice that immediately made Sakura cease struggling to free herself from her invisible bounds. It was not intimidating but commanded respect and Sakura realized that despite being submerged into what appeared to be a really dark lake, she was indeed a lot like the proverbial fish out of the water.

_Thy road is a harsh one, fraught with death and peril. But as it always has been, a Sword always needs its Sheath. One cannot be without the other, for it will be bare and empty and devoid of glorious purpose. When the skies grow dark and the northern wind blows, the Sheath becomes the Sword and the red flower grows._

Sakura chuckled humorlessly in her head. She had heard enough prophecies in her life to recognize one when she heard it. She frowned. _But I…I don't understand._

A ghost of a smile graced the woman's face, so small that Sakura nearly missed it.

_So it was, and so it will be. _

The kunoichi's frown deepened. _I don't understand. What do you want from me?_

The stone resting in the middle of the woman's forehead shone with an unearthly glow as she raised her hand once more, and traced Sakura's jaw with her fingertips. Her touch was feather-light, nearly unnoticeable, and it was quite possible that the young medic wouldn't have felt it had she not been following the pale woman's every movement.

_Oh, childling, this is not about what I want from you. This is about what you are willing to give._

Sakura's eyes widened. _Wait! At least give me a clue-_

The woman touched her Yin Seal and then all she could see was bright, blinding light.

Sakura's eyes snapped open, and she gasped for breath, her chest heaving at the memory of being trapped in the dark waters of that lake. She flexed her fingers to make sure that her limbs had regained movement, though she knew that she was being paranoid. Raising her hand to her face, she wiped the sweat from her forehead, breathing heavily.

She rose from her makeshift bed and silently walked out of the cave, the chilly morning breeze cooling her heated skin pleasantly. Walking to the edge of the forest, she perched herself on a tree branch with one swift jump. She leaned her head against the tree, breathing in the comforting smell of wet leaves and damp earth. It was a familiar smell that made her relax instantly. It reminded her of home, when Konoha still was the Village Hidden in the Leaves. This place was a lot greyer in comparison, with not enough rivers or lakes or fields, but she was willing to latch onto anything that would provide her with some semblance of comfort.

The sun had not quite risen yet, its first rays just barely reaching the lower part of the tree trunks. Somehow, she felt as if the sun was duller in this part of the world, less bright.

_No sun will ever be as bright as Konoha's…_

Still, there was something serene about the morning mist shrouding the valleys in the distance, the bald mountain tops shining like jewels.

A lot like the jewel the woman in her dream had been wearing.

_When the skies grow dark and the northern wind blows, the Sheath becomes the Sword and the red flower grows, _she remembered the woman's words.

What could that possibly mean? How could a sheath become a sword? The Sword was obviously Arthur. How could it not be? He was the chosen one, the returned King, the one meant to restore balance.

But where did a sheath come in?

As far as she knew, Arthur had pulled the blade from the stone. No one had ever mentioned a sheath. Not an actual one, at least.

_Could it be that the Sheath is also a person? Could it be that when that woman spoke of a Sheath, she meant…me?_

Sakura shook her head, her brow furrowed. _No, it can't be me. I don't belong in these prophecies. Hell, it could be Bedivere or Percival. It could be anyone._

She ran a hand through her hair, cringing at the tangled mess of knots and grime. _I will not be governed by prophecies made by others. Not the Mage's and not this woman's, whoever she was. I make my own fate. _Her eyes darkened._ Naruto was the chosen one too. The child of Jiraya's prophecy. What good did that do to him?_

Orange-hued rays of sunrise kissed her face, warming her cheeks and drawing her eyes away from her lap and towards the horizon. Brilliant gold and pink bled like fire in the east, over the valleys and beyond the mountains. They bathed the world in their comforting light, reflecting on the beads of morning dew sliding down the leaves.

The light should have brought her warmth, but this rare cloudless morning only acted to solidify the reality of her losses and of everything she was going to lose in the future. Of everything she was scared to lose.

She took one last breath, hoping to keep the crispy scent of dawn inside her lungs for a little while longer, and jumped down from her place on the branch. The walk back to the cave seemed longer than ever before, but she used the little extra time to gather her thoughts.

The others were still asleep, and Sakura was thankful for that. She didn't have the strength to deal with Bedivere or Bill just yet.

And she certainly wasn't in any position to face Arthur.

Not after the…incident.

She chuckled humorlessly to herself. The incident…She felt thirteen years old all over again. Truthfully though, she couldn't quite name what had happened between them. Training, a joke, a mistake…Nothing seemed to fit. How could she aptly name something that left her thoughts such a jumbled mess?

She wished she knew what went on in Arthur's mind. She wished she knew if his thoughts mirrored hers, though she highly doubted that. Arthur was…Arthur. Arrogant, self-centered, caring, painfully handsome Arthur.

_I'm…I'm not ready for this…_

She was not ready to answer her own questions, and she was not ready to face her own internal turmoil. Most of all, she was not ready to explore what the little stirrings in her belly meant.

And yet, as she made her way inside the cave, she couldn't help but wonder what would have happened, had Bill not interrupted them.

XxxOxOxOxxX

Sakura pulled the hood of her cloak further down her face as they entered the village on foot after spending three days traveling on horseback.

Stagside Village was a larger community than she had expected, though it still was just about twice as big as a neighborhood back in Konoha. The streets were narrow, muddy, and noisy, with the village crier and traders calling out their wares. Workshops, from metalsmiths to food-sellers, with big signs hanging above them showing their owners' trade were open to what she guessed was the main street.

Her boots splashed in the mud as she walked over wheel tracks, trying to avoid the bigger puddles. Fortunately, the village seemed busy enough that they wouldn't attract too much attention to themselves. Though Bedivere's informants were almost sure that word of the bounty on their heads had yet to reach this part of the Realm, Sakura was not willing to risk being seen. Her pink hair stood out like a sore thumb, and amidst the sea of browns and blacks and dirty blonds, someone would definitely notice her as an oddity.

The main street gave way to smaller alleys, leading deeper into the village, away from the market and to where the common folk lived. The farmers and the laborers and the numerous beggars. The houses were basic, made of a wooden frame with the gaps filled with woven strips of wood, and thatched roofs.

In the distance stood what Sakura guessed was the church, though compared to the churches she'd seen in Londinium, it looked a lot more than just a big house with a bell. Right beside it stood a mill.

The faces of the people were dirty, their cheeks hollow and sickly. For a community that was supposed to be largely self-sufficient, they looked worse than she could have ever imagined. Even the animals looked criminally malnourished. One was not supposed to be able to see a horse's ribs with the naked eye. She couldn't possibly imagine how high the child mortality rate was in this place.

She'd never seen a village in such a deplorable condition ever before.

Looking around, her gaze fell on a building that stood out like a sore thumb among the rest. It looked like the tower of a castle, with battlements and a medium sized wall encircling it. The drawbridge was down, and she could see the silhouettes of guards standing atop the small barbican.

"There," she whispered to Percival, who stood beside her. "That's where we're supposed to go."

He nodded and nudged Bedivere, who shifted his eyes to the fortified residence. "There is no way to circumvent the castle. There are guards everywhere. They will see us the moment we step foot out in the open."

Sakura hummed thoughtfully. _I could put the guards under a genjutsu, but I've never done it on such a scale and I'm not Sasuke. If the guards start dropping unconscious like flies, people will notice. _She frowned and dismissed the idea. _No, the risk of something going wrong is too high and I'm not willing to gamble with our chances right now._

She turned to Bill, who seemed to know the area better than the rest of them. "Can't we circle around the village? We could slip past them without noticing."

The man shook his head. "Not an option. There's only one other exit from Stagside and it will be guarded. Even if it weren't, that road leads straight to the Wetlands."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "The Wetlands?"

"Marshes," he explained. "An endless expanse of treacherous ground that can swallow you whole if you don't watch your step. I've never crossed them and I'm not about to do it now for your sake."

She wanted to roll her eyes, but she had to admit that Bill was right. It did not sound like the kind of place anyone would enjoy. "We must keep a low profile and not draw any attention to ourselves," she concluded. "We're already at risk just by being here. This whole village is a nest of Blacklegs. We need a plan and information."

Rubio nodded. "The lass is right. We need to take cover too. We've been standing out in the open for far too long."

Sakura inwardly agreed. _Think, Sakura, think…_

"Is there any place here where we could stay without raising suspicion?" asked Arthur, crossing his arms across his chest. "It would be bloody convenient if we could gather information there too."

"You ain't asking for much, are you lad?" Bill snorted. "The only establishments in this village that could possibly offer both are the church and the brothel-"

Sakura's eyes lit up. "That's it!" she said, cutting Bill off.

The man looked at her questioningly. "I don't follow."

She passed her gaze over each of their faces, landing on Arthur last. He was looking at her strangely, contemplatively.

A moment later, his blue eyes widened. "No. Absolutely not!"

Sakura smirked. "Does anyone of you know where I can find a prostitute's dress?"

**TBC**

**Hiya guys! **

**I know it's been a while (again) but I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I know it's not overly interesting, but it's one of those transitional chapters as we move on to the next set-piece of our story. **

**On an unrelated note…Did any of you watch "The Dark Crystal: Are of Resistance"?! Oh my God, I'm in love! And upset…But also in love! And scared for my sweet baby Deet…But mostly in love! **

**I need Rian and Deet together, seriously! XD**

**Anywayyyy…I'll just stop my fangirling right here. **

**I hope you enjoyed this! **

**Lots of things coming up next with more dangerous situations and a lot more ArthurXSakura! **

**Drop me a review to tell me what you think of this chapter.**

**Until next time, **

**Lots of love! **


	13. Chapter 13

Sakura turned to them with a smirk, two pairs of keys rattling in her hand. "I got us in." she said proudly, pointedly ignoring Arthur's sour expression.

"You're out of your goddam mind."

She rolled her eyes. "It's a solid plan, princeling."

"It's a stupid plan."

Sakura narrowed her eyes at him. "I don't see you coming up with anything better. It's not like we have much of a choice anyway." Turning away from the blond man, she handed one key to Bedivere and the other to Percival. "Your rooms are on the first floor. Up the flight of stairs, second corridor on the left. There are just too doors there. Remember, you are supposed to be laborers looking for work. So, please, don't do anything that will blow your cover."

Admittedly, none of them really fit the bill of a common laborer, but stranger people had walked into brothels before, and prostitutes tended not to ask too many questions as long as they were treated decently and paid.

The men nodded, hiding the keys under their cloaks.

"I still think staying here for prolonged periods of time is too risky."

Sakura sighed. "I don't like this any more than you do, Billie, but information gathering takes time. These people won't open up to strangers. Infiltration is our best bet right now. We have a few more days until we're supposed to meet up with the Mage again. They should be enough time to gather at least a little bit of useful information." She was not sure where the Mage had gone off to, only that she meant to meet with her master, and that they were supposed to meet up in a week's time. Their rendezvous-point was an inconspicuous little town two days away from Stagside, called Cliffgarde.

The man said nothing, and Sakura inwardly counted that as a win. If Bill thought it unwise to oppose her, that certainly meant that her plan was as solid as any.

_Or we are just that desperate…_

"Chop chop, lads!" she urged them. "Find your rooms and get some rest, for the real work starts tonight. Make sure to sit in different corners of the room and only come down after you're certain there's a big enough crowd here to make blending in easier."

"What about you, lass?"

"I'll be staying with the other employees. I'm a working girl here now, remember?" She grinned at Rubio, certain that she was grating on Arthur's nerves, if his scowl was any indication. _Serves him right. Arrogant prick…_

She offered them a small wave and turned around, her cloak swishing around her ankles as she walked towards the back of the establishment and to the room where a couple of the other girls were waiting for her.

The woman running the place was middle aged, and Sakura was sure she used to be a beauty in her youth. Years of harsh work and even harsher living conditions had broken her exterior, but her dark eyes were of a person confident in who she was. She had no doubt that Lady Avarre, as she liked to be called, could give any man a run for his money.

"There you are!"

Lady Avarre's voice snapped her out of her thoughts and she turned to the side to see the woman holding up her skirts and walking decidedly towards her.

"My girls are here to make you presentable." she said as she grabbed Sakura by the arm and started pulling her towards a door. "Won't you look at yourself? Dreadful! I can't let my costumers see you like this!" She opened the door and pulled the pink-haired medic inside, slamming it shut behind them. The room was mostly empty apart from a big empty barrel and a few chairs.

_Gee, thanks…_

To be completely honest, Sakura couldn't exactly hold Lady Avarre's words against her. With dirt smearing every inch of exposed skin and her hair a tangled mess of knots and grime, she was certain she looked a fright.

"Igene! Sebivere!"

Within moments, two young girls that looked just a little older than Sakura came rushing in from an adjacent room, eager to answer their Lady's call.

"Yes, Lady Avarre?" said one of the meekly. She was a pretty little thing, with long dark hair and light blue eyes. Her dress, made of layers of light brown fabric, complemented her figure.

"Well, what are you waiting for, Igene? Go fetch the buckets and the soap! Shoo! Shoo!" As the girl rushed off to do her biding, the older woman turned to the one Sakura guessed was Sebivere. "Don't just stand there, girl! Come help me undress her."

Sakura's eyes widened. "Wait-"

"Shush!" commanded Lady Avarre as she unhooked her cloak and pulled her breeches down. She handed them to Sebivere, who rushed off somewhere. Sakura was thankful she'd left her weapon's pouch with Percival. "Get in the barrel. We need to bathe you and make sure you look your best. As this is your first day, you'll be delivering drinks to our customers. Leave the more personal entertainment to the more experienced for tonight. We run a fine establishment here, is what we do!"

Sakura was by no means a prude, but the thought of being touched by any of the Blacklegs that she was sure would be flocking in after sunset made her shudder. By the time Igene returned with four buckets of water that Sakura was surprised she could even carry on her own, she was dressed in just her white tunic. It reached right below the curve of her buttocks, and she was thankful for that. She'd have a hard time explaining why a woman her age had so many scars.

She climbed into the empty barrel and yelped in surprise when Lady Avarre dumped the first bucket of water over her head, soaking her from head to toe.

"Come on, Nineve, kneel. I need to wash your hair."

Sakura had to remind herself to respond to the fake name, but she did as she was told and lowered herself into the barrel, inwardly cringing at how dirty the water was as it dripped down her arms and legs.

Lady Avarre grabbed the greenish bar of soap and started lathering up her head, humming a song under her breath. The pink-haired medic didn't know if she was aware of it, but she smiled none the less. In some ways, Lady Avarre reminded her a lot of Tsunade. The similarities were apparent in the way she carried herself. She was straightforward, perhaps even harsh, but it was obvious that she cared for the girls living and working with her, if her decision not to throw Sakura into the lion's den on her first night was any indication.

_I bet Lady Avarre and Tsunade-shishou would have liked each other…_

She closed her eyes, allowing herself to enjoy the way Lady Avarre's trained fingers massaged her scalp. She couldn't remember the last time she had taken a proper bath. Sakura picked up the second bar of soap and started scrubbing her arms and legs, relishing the sight of the dirty lather slowing turning white.

"Now, that's a good lass! You saved me the trouble of having to do that myself." said Lady Avarre, patting her head.

Sakura sent the woman a wide smile.

"Close your eyes now, dearie. I need to rinse your hair."

Sakura did as she was told, and a moment later, the older woman emptied another bucket over her head. Her locks stuck to her face and back, but she hadn't felt this light in a long time.

"My, my! Won't you look at this!" Lady Avarre ran her fingers through a strand of her dripping hair, bringing it closer to her face to examine it. "What kind of coloring is this? I have never seen such a shade in all my years. Why, how come no man snatched you for himself, dearie? With this hair and those pretty green eyes of yours…My, my!"

Sakura lowered her head, forcing herself to appear bashful. "While my father still lived, I had to dedicate all my time to caring for him. He was very ill and could do nothing by himself. There was no room for a husband in my life."

"Oh, you poor little thing. Don't you worry! We're all a family here. We'll take care of you." Lady Avarre patted her cheek affectionately, before turning to look at the door, her foot tapping impatiently. "Now, where is that girl? How hard is it to bring some cloth to dry you with and a dress?"

As if on cue and certainly due to not wanting to test Lady Avarre's patience, the blonde girl rushed in the room carrying a bundle of plain white cloth under one arm, and two dresses draped over the other.

"There you are, Sebivere! Come now, we need to get Nineve here ready for tonight before the first customers start arriving."

Sakura stepped out of the barrel, a shiver running down her spine as cool air hit her soaked form. She allowed the two women to towel-dry her skin and hair, putting up little fight when Lady Avarre sat her in one of the chairs and started running a comb through her locks. She was not used to people making such a fuss over her, and she generally did not enjoy having her hair and limbs pulled by complete strangers, but she reined in her natural instinct to jump away, and let the women do what was necessary.

Lady Avarre motioned to Sebivere to take over combing and fixing her hair as she walked over to the dresses unceremoniously dropped over the back of a chair.

"Now, which one to pick…" The older woman scratched her chin thoughtfully as she shifted her gaze between the two dresses.

With Sebivere fixing her hair and Lady Avarre standing nearly in front of her, Sakura could not see the garments clearly, though she caught pieces of burgundy and green fabric in the corner of her eye.

"Your skin is pale so the burgundy would look divine on you. But then, the green would bring out your eyes beautifully!"

Sakura smiled. Lady Avarre appeared to be speaking more to herself than to her, but it was a comforting sight. In a way, it reminded her of Shizune, who used to talk to herself while conducting research. It was a concentration exercise, and while it had never worked for Sakura, Shizune used to swear by it.

Lady Avarre clapped her hands excitedly. "The green one it is! Sebivere, help me dress her. You can finish fixing her hair later."

Sakura stood and let Sebivere pull the soaked tunic over her head. If the two found her undergarments strange, they chose not to comment. With the lives they led, Sakura doubted they cared about what one chose to wear beneath their clothes.

Lady Avarre picked up the green dress, holding it by the sleeves. "So? What do you think?"

The garment was made of muslin dyed an appealing earthly-green hue. The square neckline was trimmed with gold stitching and the sleeves ended in crème-colored tulle that flared around the wrist. The bodice, dark brown in color, laced up with gold string. The skirt was a bulk of green muslin with a thinner, lighter overlay made of what appeared to be cheap silk dyed a couple of shades darker than the rest of the dress.

Sakura's mouth formed an amazed 'O' as she stared at the dress, and Lady Avarre chuckled.

"Come on, girlie. Let's see you in it."

Having never worn such a garment in her life, Sakura allowed the women to pull the dress over her head and lace the bodice up. The hem just barely grazed the floor, the fabric of the skirt flaring around her hips. The bodice, made of sturdy, rough leather cinched at her waist, and accented her breasts. Coupled with the open square neckline, it left more skin exposed than she was comfortable with, but she hid her uneasiness.

_Not much I can do about that now, is there?_

"My, Nineve!" Lady Avarre said clapping her hands excitedly. "Who knew this was hiding under all those layers of dust and dirt! You look exquisite, girlie!"

The older woman's eyes roamed her form with a pleased glint in her gaze, and Sakura suddenly felt extremely self-conscious. The reality of her situation started to sink in, and she realized that she would have to go out there, in a room full of drunk and randy men, dressed like this. And she'd probably have to brave the insults and inappropriate touching that she would be subjected to.

_Without breaking any necks. You gotta keep that in mind, Saks. No breaking any bones today._

"Now please finish up her hair, Sebivere. I need to go check on the other girls. Call for me once you get Nineve ready to go out." said Lady Avarre, patting Sakura's cheek on her way out.

"Come, new girl," Sebivere smiled at her good-naturedly. "Let's get you all prim and proper for you first night." She giggled at her own words, and Sakura couldn't help but smile.

Sebivere and other girls led difficult lives. Who knew how each one of them had ended up under Lady Avarre's wing, and who knew what kind of degenerates they had to face each and every night. Seeing Sebivere so cheerful, despite the harsh conditions of her life, was a hopeful sight. Perhaps there was hope for all of them after all.

_So, stay focused on that, Haruno. You're doing this for all of these people. _

Sakura let the blonde woman run her fingers through her pink locks, feeling her pick up strands of hair here and there. She stared down at her hands and fidgeted with the tulle of her sleeves.

_I wonder what Naruto would say if he were to see me now…_She smiled at the thought. _Something nice, most likely. He always had something nice to say to me._

"Look up!" Sebivere's cheerful voice broke her out of her thoughts, and she found herself looking into the blonde's smiling face. "Let's put just a few finishing touches." From a pouch hanging from her belt, Sebivere took out a thin piece of charcoal, what looked like a paint brush, and a small wooden bowl, no bigger than half the palm of her hand.

Sakura remained still as the blonde lined her eyelids with the piece of charcoal and applied a thin layer of what appeared like dark pink pigment on her lips.

"There you go, Nineve, all ready!" Sebivere patted her shoulder. "Let's go find Lady Avarre so she may give you a few last-minute instructions. She should be in the other room with the rest of the girls on duty tonight."

Sakura didn't have time to speak, as the blonde woman grabbed her hand and started pulling her towards the door.

The other room was a little bigger, and full of young women getting ready for the night. Most, if not all of them, looked just a couple of years older than her. The girls looked festive, chatting amicably to each other, as if preparing for some type of celebration.

_A coping mechanism,_ the medic inside her whispered in her ear. _They need to keep each other's spirits lifted in order to persevere._

"Nineve! There you are!" Lady Avarre's voice broke her out her thoughts and Sakura smiled meekly at the woman, her face a mask of nervousness befitting a young girl on her first night as a prostitute. "Look at you! Lovely, lovely!" She turned to Sebivere. "Go on, darling. Get yourself ready too."

Lady Avarre watched the blonde woman leave, and then linked her arm with Sakura's. "Now, a few words of advice," she started as she led her towards the back of the room and another door. "This place usually gets busy, but don't let that get to you. You just take the drinks to the customers. That's all you have to do, at least for tonight. And remember to smile! You are a pretty little thing, with a pretty smile. Our customers like that."

_Joy…_

Then, Lady Avarre's expression grew serious and the older woman fell silent. Sakura frowned. "Lady Avarre?"

"I gotta tell you, dearie. Most of our customers are nice people. The common folk. Poor chaps, who come here for an escape and a few hours of happiness." Her voice lowered to a whisper, as if she feared being heard. "But not all of them are like that. These…These Blacklegs come here sometimes too."

Sakura's muscles tensed.

"They are not a good lot, Nineve; they do bad things, awful things. But they rule these streets. No one can touch them. Watch yourself around them, will you? I'd hate to see anything bad happen to you. You're one of my girls now, and I look after my girls." She had a worried look in her eyes as she pinched Sakura's cheek affectionately.

The young medic smiled at the older woman encouragingly. "I will be careful, Lady Avarre. I promise."

Lady Avarre perked up and she smiled widely, her mood instantly changing. She handed Sakura a tray and opened the door. "What are you waiting for then? Go get them, girlie!"

Sakura took a deep breath and stepped into the brothel's main hall.

XxxOxOxOxxX

To say that Arthur was in a sour mood would be an understatement.

Despite having grown up in a brothel, hiding in the far corner of one, with the hood of his cloak shielding his face and holding a flagon of cheap ale, was not something he enjoyed.

Rubio sat beside him, sipping at his own drink as he observed the thickening crowd. They made sure not to draw attention to themselves, watching the patrons subtly and staying in the shadows. They could only keep an eye on a certain portion of the brothel, and Arthur hoped that Bedivere, Percival and Bill had secured themselves a better vantage point.

Arthur and Rubio's table was in the far back, away from the main door and the ever growing stream of regulars flocking to the brothel to drown their misery in alcohol and the girls' welcoming embrace.

_Is this what you'll be doing, wench? Fishing for information as you hold a Blackleg's head against your breast?_ His eyes narrowed at the thought.

Against his better judgement, he took a sip form his flagon, sloshing the ale around in his mouth in the hopes that it'd make swallowing it a bit easier.

"How do you think the lass is holding up?"

Arthur glanced at Rubio in the corner of his eye. "Well enough, I imagine. She's good at doing stupid things."

Rubio chuckled. "Aye, she's good at saving our hides too."

"Your point?"

"All I'm saying is, have a little trust in her, chap. She can take care of herself. She's got a tough head, that one."

Arthur snorted into his drink. _You have no idea…_

For a few minutes, they sat in silence. The brothel's main hall was loud enough already, a cacophony of clinking mugs and drunken shouting.

"Oi! Girl! Come 'ere! The tankards need refilling!"

Arthur barely paid any attention to the group of noisy men occupying the table next to theirs, keeping his eyes in the direction of the main door in case any person of interest decided to walk in. He raised his flagon to his lips, absently sipping at the bitter ale.

And then, a figure came into view, heading straight towards them, and Arthur's sharp intake of breath caused him to choke on his drink.

"Is that…is that…the lass?"

Arthur didn't even spare Rubio a glance, ignoring his astonished whisper, and kept his gaze on the woman. She walked past their table airily without turning to look at them, though he was sure she had noticed them. She plastered a pleasant expression on her face as the approached the other men, holding a tray in one hand and her skirts in the other. She smiled disarmingly at the occupants of the table as she went about filling her tray with their empty tankards.

"I'll be right back with your order, boys!" she said in a sing-song voice that had the men cheering and whistling at her back as she walked away.

Probably feelings his and Rubio's eyes on her as she passed by their table, she stopped to glance at them.

"Anything I can get you, lads?" The smile on her face was amicable, but her eyes narrowed, as if daring them to say or do anything that would blow her cover.

Arthur found himself unable to form coherent sentences, and he did not quite trust his own voice not to make him sound like a complete fool.

_Is this…is this really the wench?_

He had never considered himself an overly righteous man, not with his life, and he had no qualms about openly admiring a woman's feminine graces. And he had definitely admired Sakura's on a number of occasions. He'd be a fool and a liar to say otherwise. However, how could he have ever been prepared for _this_?

The dress, a comely green that brought out the vibrance of her eyes, hugged her form in a way that knocked the breath out of his lungs. The bodice was tight, accentuating her feminine curves, and the skirt flared around her legs. He clenched his fist under the table at the sight of her exposed skin, scrubbed clean and glinting like ivory.

_And visible to anyone with a bloody pair of eyes…_

Out of its usual tightly woven braid, her hair fell in rich waves down her back, reaching nearly to the curve of her waist. As she tilted her head to the side in yet another silent warning not to ruin her cover, her locks caught the candlelight from the chandeliers hanging above them and shone in a way that it wouldn't have even on the brightest of days. Two thick braids on either side of her head created a crown that sat perfectly atop her head, while the small curls that framed her face softened her features.

He'd always thought that her hair was blonde, and simply dull and dirty like all of them were after hiding out in that cave for so long. But now, under the light of the candles, he could see that it was a hue much closer to pink. One of a kind, just like her.

If a beam of the sun's pinkish light during sunrise could weave itself into a lock, then that was her hair.

He gulped as his eyes found hers, and her mouth -her rosy, sinful mouth- curved downwards into a scowl. Had the circumstances been different, he would have laughed at her obvious displeasure at being stared at. He didn't though, for in his lightheadedness, he'd probably make a fool of himself. He blamed the ale.

Beside him, Rubio managed to snap out of his daze. He whistled lowly. "Damn it, lass…"

Sakura leaned forward, as if she were taking their order, and raised a challenging eyebrow. "Can I get you anything, lad? You've been staring for a while."

Rubio grinned at her roguishly. "Nah, don't mind me. I'm just appreciating the handiwork of the dress." He smirked. "And thanking your mother."

Arthur couldn't remember the last time he'd wanted to punch someone so badly, consequences be damned. He settled for smacking Rubio upside the head.

Sakura shifted her eyes -vibrant and so, so green- to him, and leaned even closer, as if she were doing it on purpose. She probably was. It took every ounce of his self-control to keep his gaze above her collar bone, the chance to catch another glimpse of the delicious skin of her cleavage almost too tantalizing to pass up.

_Gods help me…_

"See something you like, blondie?" she challenged him with a sneer, the kind that was both triumphant and mocking.

Regaining a sliver of his composure, he smirked up at her. "As a matter of fact, I do. Do you think that pretty brunette over there will come to my bed tonight?" He leaned forward, barely a couple of inches away from her face, and gently grasped her chin "Though, if she can't, I could always settle for you."

For just a moment, something akin to stunned silence fell between them, but Sakura recovered almost instantaneously. She opened her mouth, undoubtedly to say something equal parts witty and insulting, when a foreign voice beat her to it.

"Nineve! Nineve!"

At the sound of her fake name, Sakura's head snapped up and she drew herself away from him. "Lady Avarre? Is everything alright?"

The middle-aged woman looked forlorn as she grasped Sakura's hands in her own, and Arthur frowned. An unpleasant shiver ran down his spine.

_Something's wrong…_

"Oh, dearie, this was not supposed to happen. Not tonight."

"What is going on?" Sakura pressed the woman, her brow furrowed.

"He's here! Lord…Lord Agrarrok is here with his Blacklegs."

Sakura gasped in realization and Arthur gritted his teeth. _That must be him…Vortigern's out-of-control lapdog. _

"Lady Avarre, is any of the girls in trouble?"

The older woman looked up, her eyes moist as she tightened her hold on Sakura's hands.

"You, Nineve. He's asking for you."

**TBC**

**Eeerr…I don't know what just happened, but I finished this chapter in just two days. Don't ask me how, it only happens once in a blue moon. :P **

**I had tons of fun writing this and I sincerely hope you enjoyed it! **

**Drop me a review to let me know how you liked it! **

**I'm not sure when the next chapter will be uploaded, but I promise to do my best! **

**Until next time,**

**Lots of love!**


	14. Chapter 14

Sakura could feel Lord Agrarrok's eyes on her as she refilled his tankard with ale.

He was younger than she had anticipated, a man in his forties at most, with dark hair dusted grey in places. His chest was broad, and even though he was seated, she could tell he was tall. Dressed in tight breeches and knee-high black boots, she could see the defined muscles of his legs. For a split second, her eyes shifted to the sword against his hip.

_An able swordsman. Right-handed. Steady on his feet._

She tried to take note of every detail without drawing attention to herself, looking at him through the curtain of pink hair that fell in front of half of her face as she leaned over to fill his flagon.

He raised his hand without saying a word and she immediately pulled back, holding her jug close to her chest. Sakura could feel Lady Avarre's nervousness even as she stood father away and out of earshot, her hands clasped in front of her in an attempt to keep herself from fidgeting.

He sipped at his ale, as if tasting it to see if it was worth his while. The establishment around them was silent, the patrons waiting with bated breath to see what their reigning lord was going to do. Chances were, they had been through this numerous times before, and Sakura had no doubt that not all of Lord Agrarrok's visits had ended pleasantly.

After what seemed like an hour, he raised his tankard in the air and plastered what could almost be mistaken for a smile on his face. "May this fine establishment prosper, and long may our generous King live! Drink, my brothers!"

The room as a whole seemed to release a collective sigh of relief and the atmosphere immediately lightened as the people started conversing among themselves once more, asking for more drink. Their voices got increasingly louder and a semblance of normality settled around them.

Sakura kept her head low, scanning the room through the curtain of her hair. Lord Agrarrok's Blacklegs scattered around, and there were at least two of them in every corner of the room. They dominated the space, forcing the other customers to bend to their will just by looking at them. Crowds parted for them to pass, other patrons abandoned their tables for their sake. The girls on waiting duty rushed to fill their flagons with ale and entertain them.

For just a second, Sakura's eyes shifted to where Arthur and Rubio were seated, her stomach tight. There were at least ten Blacklegs within the building, not counting Lord Agrarrok, and chances were, there were more of them guarding every possible exit outside. With their reigning lord within the establishment, they were, without a doubt, keeping close track of who came and went.

_For the love of every God out there, Arthur. Don't do anything stupid._

"Tell me, girl," Lord Agrarrok's voice made her shift her attention to him, and she forced herself to push her worry for Arthur and Rubio's wellbeing out of her mind.

"Whatever ye wish, M'Lord," she said, her fake accent thick as it rolled off her tongue.

"Where is your family, girl? Your parents and your brothers?"

Sakura shook her head, clutching the jug tightly and keeping her eyes low as she expertly played her part. "Me maither died when I was a wee girl and me faither died a few months ago. I daenae have any brothers or sisters."

"Is that so?" Lord Agrarrok's gloved hand reached for a lock of her hair. Sakura made a show flinching, though she wished she could twist his arm out of its socket as the man leaned forward, bringing the rosy lock to his nose and inhaling deeply. He let her hair fall from his grasp and then his fingers skimmed over her cheek.

He gently took hold of her chin, his piercing gray eyes taking in every single one of her features as he shifted her face from one side to the other. "A rare flower like you, alone in this unforgiving world with no one to protect you from the evils lurking around every corner." His eyes pierced into her. "Aren't you afraid, girl?"

"Aye, I'm very afraid, M'Lord. 'Tis why I left me town and made me way here, M'Lord. To find work and put a roof above me head."

"How very…unfortunate that you would choose an establishment as lowly as this."

_And yet, you seem to be enjoying this lowly establishment just fine, you detestable lapdog._ Sakura gulped, as if nervous. "I know little else, M'Lord. No one would employee me even as a maid without experience. I had to find a way to support meself, M'Lord."

He pinned her with his gaze, and Sakura nearly shivered. There was something unsettling about his eyes, as if he knew something she didn't. _Stop it,_ she chastised herself. _Keep your wits about you, damn it._ It was hard, considering how close Arthur and the others were to the same people that were out for their blood, but she forced herself to maintain her mask of frail and helpless femininity.

"How very brave of you…" he said, his tone almost mocking, as his fingers traveled from her chin to the strings keeping her bodice together. "So young, so alone…So easy to break." He played with dangling chords of gold, his fingertips just barely ghosting over the skin of her cleavage. She resisted the urge to twist his arm behind his back and listen as the bones cracked.

"'Tis the way to survive, M'Lord."

As if broken out of a daze by her voice, he pulled his hand back and picked up his flagon, taking hearty gulps from his ale.

"What is your name, girl?"

"Me faither named me Nineve, M'Lord."

He hummed into his drink. "It suits you. Exotic, just like you."

"Thank ye, M'Lord."

He smirked at her over his flagon, and the smirk was all kinds of feral and insidious. "I've always taken pleasure in the finer things of this world."

Sakura bowed her head, choosing to remain silent. She had a lot she wanted to say on the matter and what exactly he could do with his "finer pleasures" but she was supposed to be a poor orphan.

_And to men like him, poor orphans are good for little else other than catering to their whims…_

She put on a show of looking away shyly, clutching the jug of ale in her hands tighter, as if scared. If there was one thing she knew about pompous pricks like Lord Agrarrok, it was that they thrived on fear, particularly fear inspired by their presence. The shinobi world, as forward-thinking as it used to be especially when compared to places like this, was still rife with arrogant, self-entitled bastards. Gods knew Sakura had met her fair share of them.

_Met one of them, met all of them…_ She resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"Jofir, gather the men. We're leaving. I've had my fun for tonight." For a few seconds, Lord Agrarrok followed his guard with his eyes as the man moved about the room, rounding up the rest of the Blacklegs. Then, he shifted his eyes to her. "I'm afraid I must cut this pleasant meeting short. A man like me has to stay true to his duty bestowed upon his by our great King Vortigern."

_I'm sure, you pretentious lapdog…_Outwardly, she bowed her head. "Aye, M'Lord."

He took her hand in his and brought it to his lips, placing a kiss on her knuckles. "Fear not, my flower. I will return for you." He smiled, and had she not been a trained kunoichi, she would have shivered in uneasiness. There was nothing friendly about that smile, nothing to inspire comfort or warmth.

_Not the way Arthur's smile does…_

Lord Agrarrok stood, fastening his cloak, and with one last look in her direction, he pulled the hood over his head. His men trailed after him like trained dogs as he walked out of the building with an air of sickening confidence.

The moment every last one of the Blacklegs were out the door, the room seemed to breathe a collective sigh of relief, and conversation picked up.

Sakura inhaled deeply in an attempt to calm her nerves. While the meeting with Lord Agrarrok had gone well and she had certainly managed to land herself in his good graces, it would be a lie to say that she wasn't unnerved. Though she'd never had a problem with using her womanly graces to gather intel or get close to a target, it wasn't something she particularly enjoyed doing.

"By the Gods, Nineve! Are you ok, my girl?" Lade Avarre rushed to her side and cupped her cheeks, searching her face for any sign of trauma.

Sakura smiled, her heart warmed by the older woman's genuine concern. "Do not fret, Lady Avarre. I'm alright, I promise." she reassured her, hoping to put the woman's mind at ease.

"Good, good. Oh, my girl! My sweet, sweet girl! This wasn't supposed to happen. I didn't want you anywhere near those scoundrels."

Sakura shook her head. "Don't speak like that, Lady Avarre. You never know who might be listening. It's alright, it wasn't your fault. I must earn my keep here."

"Oh, Nineve. You deserve better. All my girls deserve better than the fate that awaits them at the hand of those ungodly blackguards."

Sakura frowned, and after leaving her jug on a nearby table, she pulled the clearly distressed older woman with her to the back of the brothel, away from prying eyes.

"What do you mean, Lady Avarre? What fate?"

Lady Avarre stared at her for just a moment before her eyes filled with tears. She tried to put on a brave façade, the mask of the tough woman that she was so admired for, Sakura could tell, but the mask was slipping; slowly dissolving as Lady Avarre got lost in what Sakura was sure were painful memories.

"Oh, Nineve. Lord Agrarrok has taken an interest in other girls of mine before. Young girls, pretty girls. Orphans, girls disowned by their families, runaways."

_Girls no one will look for…_

The knot in Sakura's belly got tighter as realization dawned.

"Girls go missing when Lord Agrarrok takes an interest in them, Nineve. They disappear and we never see them again."

XxxOxOxOxxX

Sakura walked to her room long after all the customers had gone. It had taken them quite a bit to clean up the place even with half a dozen girls on cleaning duty, and she ached for a change of comfortable clothes and a warm bath.

She could vaguely hear voices coming from within some of the rooms she passed, but she had no intention of sticking around long enough to find one what was really going on behind those doors.

She reached her corridor and too one look towards the door she knew belonged to Arthur's room. Averting her eyes, she twisted the knob, her arm heavy, but the thought of the warm bed and the basin of clean water waiting for her on the other side was comforting.

She shut the door behind her and made a beeline for the jug of water on the bedside table, when suddenly the hairs at the back of her head stood on edge, her senses picking up the unmistakable static in the air that only another's presence could create.

And she'd recognize that particular presence anywhere.

Relaxing her stance, she pinched the bridge of her nose, well aware of the storm that was about to break out. Taking a deep breath, she crossed her arms across her chest and turned to look at her nighttime visitor.

"Didn't your mother teach you not to sneak into a lady's room?"

"I never knew my mother, remember?" Arthur observed her from his place against the wall. He was leaning on it, his arms shoved in the pockets of his riding breeches. He wasn't even looking at her, but she could almost feel his eyes boring into her.

Sakura winced inwardly. _Good going, Saks. That didn't sound insensitive at all._

"You were raised by a number of women."

"In a brothel. Much like this one." He raised his eyes to meet hers. "With regulars entirely unsuitable to be around children. Much like that Lord Blackleg of yours."

_There it is…_Sakura sighed. "You know it's not like that, Arthur. I was just gathering information."

"That's not what it looked like from where I was standing."

Sakura's fingers tightened on her arm. "Well then, perhaps you should have picked a better seat."

"Perhaps I shouldn't have bothered in the first place."

"And yet here you are." Sakura was well aware that challenging him was not a good idea. Arthur was a proud man, an alpha as Ino would have said, and he felt the natural urge to protect those he cared about. But though she was certain that his frustration stemmed solely from a place of worry for her wellbeing, she was getting tired of having to justify every little thing she did. They didn't know what she had been through, what she'd had to do for the sake of her village.

Couldn't he see that everything she did, she did for him? For all of them?

_Liar…_a voice whispered somewhere deep within her mind. _Hypocrite. You're doing it for yourself. Because you're afraid of the pain. Of what will happen to you if any of them gets hurt. If Arthur gets hurt._

"Did you gather your precious information then?"

Broken out of her thoughts, she rubbed her temples, hoping to alleviate her headache. "I didn't get much out of him. His posture told me a lot more than his tongue did. He's guarded, smart. Good with a sword."

Arthur chuckled humorlessly. "Won't you look at that, one would say you even admire the man."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Why are you here, Arthur?"

"Why, can't I check on my teammate? You came awfully close to the enemy, after all."

Sakura's temper flared, and she gritted her teeth. "What the hell would you have me do? Sit by and watch? Let the opportunity pass us by?"

"I would have you," he growled, and anger flashed deep in his eyes, "not taking unnecessary risks. I would have you safe, and not fraternizing with the enemy."

The silence that followed was deafening, the very epitome of the calm before the storm.

Sakura's hands fell to her sides, and her momentary shock shifted and morphed into a terrible kind of burning in the middle of her chest. "Is that what you think? That I was trying to get close to him because of some kind of twisted personal desire?"

He did not say anything, but his silence spoke volumes, and each second that passed was another dagger in Sakura's heart. _He can't mean this…He's just angry and burdened by all we've been through. He can't…Say something, Arthur!_

But he didn't.

She met his eyes, and he immediately averted his gaze. Still, he made no move to take his words back, to ask for forgiveness or justify himself. So, Sakura latched onto the one feeling that she could always count on to keep her sane whenever something broke inside her.

She let it rush through her veins like a torrent, unbridled and wild.

Anger.

"You fucking bastard!" She bared her teeth like an animal ready to clasp its jaws around the neck of its prey. "You ungrateful son of a bitch!" The floor cracked beneath her feet from the force of her raging chakra, but she paid it no mind as she allowed herself to be consumed by anger and disappointment. "I should have left that damn executioner take your head."

She regretted the words the moment they left her lips. Seeing Arthur freeze, eyes wide, drove the knife deeper into her chest, but her mind was clouded, overcome with emotion, and she couldn't bring herself to take anything back. Not after hearing him declare her, in essence, a turncloak. She had been a lot of things in her lifetime; scum, failure, murderer…She'd heard them all. But she'd never been called a traitor. Hearing Arthur, of all people, call her that abominable word _hurt_.

Arthur clenched his fists, and she could see the stiff lines around his mouth. He seemed pale, and Sakura had to wonder if it was the moonlight seeping through the window that gave him that ashen color or something else.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he turned his back to her and walked to the door without a word. He turned the knob and took a step but paused and looked at her over his shoulder. The yellow light from the candles of the corridor cast ugly shadows across his face. "Aye, perhaps you should have." He shut the door behind him, and the room was once more shrouded in shadows.

Sakura took a shaky breath, and a wave of unparalleled exhaustion washed over her. Her knees buckled, and she dropped her face into her hands. A choked sob slipped past her lips. She could feel the acute loss of Arthur's presence in her bones. She could feel the absence of his usual smile and his teasing and everything that made him Arthur. _Her_ Arthur.

_What have I done?_

She wanted to scream her pain away, and claw at her face for being so stupid; for not having better control over her emotions, and for allowing herself to fall victim to her own anger. When had that ever served her right?

Arthur was not without fault, but was she really any better? No. She was worse.

_I'm only ever good at pushing people away…I deserve this. I deserve to be alone. Nobody should have to put up with the likes of me. _

That night every time she closed her eyes, she could only see Arthur walking away from her.

XxxOxOxOxxX

"Would you like to find honest work, girl?"

The question caught her slightly off guard as she poured Lord Agrarrok his ale. The day after her falling out with Arthur, she made it a point to avoid all of them, by waking up at the crack of dawn and throwing herself into her role as a working woman. She actively sought out chores to occupy herself with, so she'd have an excuse if Rubio or Percival came looking for her. Working was a fine distraction from her own thoughts, after all.

By the time the brothel's doors opened for the night, she'd helped clean the rooms, cook, had wiped down the tables and had spent a good few hours washing gowns and sheets with Sebivere and another girl named Isobeth.

The brother was busy, as it usually was, and that came as no surprise. Many of these poor souls had nowhere else to go. What did come as a surprise though was Lord Agrarrok's presence. According to Lady Avarre, he never returned a second time in a row.

When he requested her services specifically, it became pretty evident why exactly he was there.

"With better coin, away from this hellhole," he continued, breaking her out of her thoughts. He looked at the people in the room distastefully, and Sakura almost laughed at the irony of the situation. _Keep your head straight, Saks. We're getting somewhere. _

"I wish, M'Lord. But who would offer such work to someone like meself?"

Lord Agrarrok smirked. "You have quite a lass here, Lady Avarre." Even as he addressed the older woman, who stood just a few meters away, his gray eyes never strayed from her face.

"I do, My Lord. Nineve is a fine young woman." Lady Avarre's voice sounded strained, scared, and Sakura wished she could turn to the older woman to hug her and reassure her that everything was going to be alright.

_Can I really make such a promise though?_

"Then, I hope it won't cost your fine establishment much if I take her off your hands."

_What-!_ Sakura widened her eyes, and she let the empty jug fall from her hands as Lady Avarre's audible gasp of horror reached her ears. The noise from the other patrons covered any noise it made as it rolled across the wooden floor. "M-M'Lord! I-I-"

He placed two fingers on her lips to silence her, and Sakura forced herself not to pull away in disgust.

"Silence, girl. You're coming with me." He clicked his fingers and one of the Blacklegs standing guard around him stepped forward. "Gebron, give her your cloak. It's cold outside and this frail gem shouldn't have to brave the temperatures all on her own."

_What have you gotten yourself into, Saks? _

Sakura kept her eyes low as the Blackleg dropped his heavy cloak on her shoulders. She pinned it in place, not allowing herself to glance around the room. She knew her eyes would immediately search for Arthur, even though she had no idea if he even was in the room. If he was, she didn't want to see his look of horror at the sight of her wearing a Blackleg's cloak and leaving the brothel with the same man who was out for their blood.

_Well, he made it pretty clear last night what he thinks of me._ She took a shaky breath, and for just a moment her mind flew from Arthur to something Lady Avarre had said. _Girls go with him and never come back._ Is that what Lord Agrarrok intended to do to her too? Make her disappear? Sakura wanted to snort in amusement. _I'd like to see him try._ _But perhaps…Perhaps I can see if I can find anything about the girls too. Perhaps some of them are still alive. _

She clenched her fist beneath the heavy cloak.

_Do this for them. You owe it to Lady Avarre for all her kindness/ And you owe to Rubio and Percival and all the others. Know thy enemy, Sakura._

Lord Agrarrok stood, his impressive frame towering over her. He looked down at her and took hold of her chin once more. She allowed him to examine her, schooling her face into an expression of nervousness. He pulled the cloak's hood over her hair and linked her arm through his.

"We're leaving for the castle now."

The Blacklegs rose as soon as their lord did and they exited the room within a few seconds, clearing the way for their superior to pass undeterred.

As she was led away from the brothel, Sakura chanced a look over her shoulder just in time to see Arthur standing at the door and watching her leave with a terrified expression on his face.

**TBC**

**I'M SORRY, PLEASE FORGIVE ME!**

**I know it's been a long while, but I promise I haven't abandoned this story and I do not intend to do so anytime soon!**

**The holidays, coupled with heavy workload and a wedding in the family kept me away from my fanfiction keyboard, but no worries! I'm back now! :D **

**Here's a long chapter with quite a bit of drama to hopefully make up for the long absence! I hope you enjoyed it! **

**I can't wait to hear your thoughts, so please drop me a review to tell me how you liked it! **

**Until next time!**

**Lots of love!**


	15. Chapter 15

Arthur watched in mute horror as a Blackleg helped Sakura mount the horse behind Lord Agrarrok.

_Sakura! No!_

"Oh Nineve! My sweet, sweet girl! What terrible fate awaits you!" Lady Avarre wailed behind him, burying her face in her hands as two girls led her away to the back of the brothel.

_What…What terrible fate?_

His ears ringing, he made to move forward without giving the repercussions of being discovered a second thought. All he could see was Sakura riding away with a whole band of Blacklegs and their depraved leader, whose plans for her were probably as horrible and sickening as the man himself.

Before he could take another step, two hands grabbed his arms from behind, and pulled him back.

"Don't! You're gonna get us killed!"

"Get your fucking hands off me!" Arthur hissed, throwing Rubio and Bedivere scalding looks over his shoulder. "I need to go after them."

"Use your head, Arthur!" Bedivere whispered harshly in his ear, glancing around the room at the regulars, who were starting to give them strange looks. "If we blow our cover, it's over. For us, for her, for the whole Kingdom."

Arthur squinted his eyes, trying to see through the fog that had rolled in earlier. The Blacklegs were dots in the distance, but he could clearly make out Sakura's from, her bright hair a beacon in the dark. _You idiot. You selfish, brave idiot…_

"You'll do her no good if you're dead, lad." Rubio said, and as much as Arthur wanted to say something harsh and sarcastic back, he knew that the man was right. Vortigern's lapdog wanted her for something so he wouldn't do anything to hurt her. Not yet. _She can take care of herself. You've seen what she can do._

For a moment, an image flashed before his eyes; an image of the dark purple blemish spreading on her shoulder, of her writhing in pain as the Mage extracted the poison from her body; of how close she came to death.

_She is strong but she's not indestructible…_

"We need to regroup and come up with a plan," said Bedivere, slowly letting let go of his arm as if he expected him to sprint after the horses the moment he was free. "Let us not create a scene. Rubio, fetch Percival and Bill, and come back up to Arthur's room. We'll be waiting for you there."

Rubio nodded and with one last look at Arthur, got lost in the crowd in search of the other two men.

Bedivere turned his eyes to him, and it took everything in Arthur not to growl at the look on his face. _I'm not a child you need to scold, old man._

"Now's not the time to be difficult, Arthur." Bedivere said, shaking his head. "We will find a solution, and if she's still alive, we'll get her out of there."

_If she's still alive…?_

Arthur's eyes flashed in anger as he grabbed the other man by the front of his tunic and pulled him closer. "You better watch your mouth," he snarled, barring his teeth as if he was ready to rip Bedivere's throat open. "Say that again and you can take this damn magic stick and shove it, because I'm out of here."

With one last shove, Arthur released his grip and turned around, not sparing the man or the increasingly curious bystanders a second glance as he climbed the stairs to the second floor.

XxxOxOxOxxX

"I hate to repeat myself, but we should have ditched her when we had the chance."

Arthur rolled his eyes at Bill, too worried and on edge to really care about his snarky remarks. If anything, he'd bet his own coin that the other man was worried for Sakura too, no matter how much he tried to deny it.

"We need to get the lass out of there."

"We will come up with a plan, but for now we must keep our wits about us and wait a little while longer."

Arthur gritted his teeth, and he glared at Bedivere. "Wait? Why the hell would you want to wait?" he growled. "Do you have any idea what that bloody bastard could be doing to her as we loiter about here like kicked dogs?"

"She knew what she was walking into when she got on that horse." Bedivere's face remained expressionless, completely unfazed by Arthur's anger. It only made Arthur angrier.

Rubio shifted on his feet beside him. "The lass can take care of herself, but we do not know what awaits her inside that castle."

"Use your head, lad," Bill said, crossing his arms across his chest. "Do you really think our merry little company stands a chance against a whole castle full of Blacklegs? Say we manage to infiltrate a bloody fortress without raising any alarms. And say we somehow manage to locate that damned woman." Bill snorted at his own words. "How the hell are we going to get out of there without steel and fire raining down on us? We can't know what condition the lass will be in when we find her, and you," he said, pointing a finger at Arthur, "haven't a single clue how to control the Sword. Or your temper. So, please help me out here, because it seems like we're bloody doomed."

Bedivere shook his head. "There's nothing we can do right now. We remain here and lay low. Don't fight me on this," he said when he noticed Arthur shift on his feet, ready to give the lot of them a piece of his mind, "I have sent a missive to the Mage. She's not too far away so she should be here in two days, three tops."

Choosing not to lash out at the man for ordering him around like child, Arthur sucked in a breath. "Are you out of your bloody mind? Three days!? Earlier you said that we'll get her out of there. What the bloody hell happened to that?"

"What would you have us do, Arthur? Endanger the whole Realm for the sake of one woman?"

Arthur gritted his teeth. "That woman is the reason our heads are still intact. So yes, Sir," he spat the word as if it were poison, "I would have you repay your debt."

"She walked into this predicament willingly. I will not put years of planning and the Kingdom's last hope in jeopardy for her sake. We remain here and wait for the Mage to arrive. We shall see what can be done then." Bedivere's words had an air of finality to them, and Arthur wanted more than anything to punch the man. _You ungrateful bastard…_

"By the time the Mage reaches us, there will be nothing but pieces for us to find!"

For a long moment, Bedivere just stared at him, his face an emotionless mask. Were Arthur in a more sober state of mind, he might have felt just the tiniest bit intimidated by the older knight. Instead, he met the man's stare, daring him to say something.

"That's a sacrifice I'm willing to make."

Arthur felt the air leave his lungs, his stomach twisting as if he had been punched. His blood ran cold in his veins, as he stared at Bedivere's impassive face with wide eyes. "What…" he managed to say and took a step forward. The word came out more like a wolf's growl than human speech. It was a visceral sound, a threatening rumble from the deepest part of his chest. Within a second, Rubio stood in front of him, pressing a hand on his shoulder to stop him from moving forward.

"Easy, lad."

Arthur ignored him, never taking his eyes away from Bedivere. "You…you bloody bastard." His muscles tensed and he immediately felt Rubio put more pressure on his shoulder. "You better pray, old man. You better pray she doesn't die. Because if she does, I'll kill you and deliver your pieces to Vortigern myself."

He shook Rubio's hands off his shoulders violently and stormed out of the room, completely ignoring Percival's strangled cry for him to wait.

**TBC**

**Hey guys!**

**I'm not gonna say sorry for being late with this update or apologize for the shortness of this chapter. I don't think it's really needed, considering the circumstances. I know you all understand. We're currently going through one of those history-altering situations that the next generations will be learning about in school.**

**I haven't really been in the mood to write, to be honest. I'm currently in total, strict quarantine, have been for the past 16 days, and we don't know when this will end. However, I'm getting used to this new routine, which is why I found myself craving to write something for the first time in a couple of months.**

**It's short and long overdue, but I'm proud of it, because I see it as progress. A small glimmer of hope, one might even say.**

**I hope all of you are doing good, I hope you're healthy and safe and social distancing. Eat well, exercise, keep your distance, and remember to wash your hands! Also, never forget to help those in need: stay home so that the sick and the elderly may be protected.**

**It's a first for us, it's tough, and we all wish things were different. But we can do this. Humanity has seen worse days, and we still emerged victorious. We'll beat this one too!**

**I'd love to chat if you're in the mood or if you need someone to listen to you, so please don't hesitate to drop me a PM! Reach out! To me, to friends and colleagues, even to people you haven't spoken to in a while. We're no longer strangers, we no longer live in different countries, or believe in different things.**

**We're all in this together and we'll get out of this together!**

**Until next time,**

**Lots of love!**


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